Acquisition and particular association of inference data indicative of an inferred mental state of an authoring user and source identity data

ABSTRACT

A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to: acquiring inference data indicative of an inferred mental state of an authoring user in connection with at least a particular item of an electronic message, acquiring source identity data providing one or more identities of one or more sources that is or are basis, at least in part, for the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user, associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user with the particular item; and associating the source identity data providing one or more identities of the one or more sources with the particular item. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC §119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/154,686, entitled DETERMINATION OF EXTENT OFCONGRUITY BETWEEN OBSERVATION OF AUTHORING USER AND OBSERVATION OFRECEIVING USER, naming Edward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A.Levien, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and LowellL. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 23 May 2008, which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/157,611, entitled DETERMINATION OF EXTENT OFCONGRUITY BETWEEN OBSERVATION OF AUTHORING USER AND OBSERVATION OFRECEIVING USER, naming Edward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A.Levien, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and LowellL. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 10 Jun. 2008, which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/215,683, entitled ACQUISITION AND ASSOCIATION OFDATA INDICATIVE OF AN INFERRED MENTAL STATE OF AN AUTHORING USER, namingEdward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A. Levien, Robert W. Lord,Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. asinventors, filed 26 Jun. 2008, which is currently co-pending, or is anapplication of which a currently co-pending application is entitled tothe benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/217,131, entitled ACQUISITION AND ASSOCIATION OFDATA INDICATIVE OF AN INFERRED MENTAL STATE OF AN AUTHORING USER, namingEdward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A. Levien, Robert W. Lord,Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. asinventors, filed 30 Jun. 2008, which is currently co-pending, or is anapplication of which a currently co-pending application is entitled tothe benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/221,253, entitled ACQUISITION AND PARTICULARASSOCIATION OF DATA INDICATIVE OF AN INFERRED MENTAL STATE OF ANAUTHORING USER, naming Edward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A.Levien, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and LowellL. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 29 Jul. 2008, which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/221,197, entitled ACQUISITION AND PARTICULARASSOCIATION OF DATA INDICATIVE OF AN INFERRED MENTAL STATE OF ANAUTHORING USER, naming Edward K. Y. Jung, Eric C. Leuthardt, Royce A.Levien, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr. and LowellL. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 30 Jul. 2008, which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to theeffect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicantsreference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is acontinuation or continuation-in-part. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit ofPrior-Filed Application, USPTO Official Gazette Mar. 18, 2003, availableat http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2003/week11/patbene.htm.The present Applicant Entity (hereinafter “Applicant”) has providedabove a specific reference to the application(s) from which priority isbeing claimed as recited by statute. Applicant understands that thestatute is unambiguous in its specific reference language and does notrequire either a serial number or any characterization, such as“continuation” or “continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S.patent applications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicantunderstands that the USPTO's computer programs have certain data entryrequirements, and hence Applicant is designating the present applicationas a continuation-in-part of its parent applications as set forth above,but expressly points out that such designations are not to be construedin any way as any type of commentary and/or admission as to whether ornot the present application contains any new matter in addition to thematter of its parent application(s).

All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and allparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the RelatedApplications is incorporated herein by reference to the extent suchsubject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

SUMMARY

A computationally implemented method includes, but is not limited to:acquiring inference data indicative of an inferred mental state of anauthoring user in connection with at least a particular item of anelectronic message; acquiring source identity data providing one or moreidentities of one or more sources that is or are basis, at least inpart, for the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state ofthe authoring user; associating the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user with the particular item;and associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item. Inaddition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in theclaims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the circuitry and/or programming canbe virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein—referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer.

A computationally implemented system includes, but is not limited to:means for acquiring inference data indicative of an inferred mentalstate of an authoring user in connection with at least a particular itemof an electronic message; means for acquiring source identity dataproviding one or more identities of one or more sources that is or arebasis, at least in part, for the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user; means for associating theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser with the particular item; and means for associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities of the one or moresources with the particular item. In addition to the foregoing, othersystem aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming apart of the present disclosure.

A computationally implemented system includes, but is not limited to:circuitry for acquiring inference data indicative of an inferred mentalstate of an authoring user in connection with at least a particular itemof an electronic message; circuitry for acquiring source identity dataproviding one or more identities of one or more sources that is or arebasis, at least in part, for the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user; circuitry for associatingthe inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user with the particular item; and circuitry for associatingthe source identity data providing one or more identities of the one ormore sources with the particular item. In addition to the foregoing,other system aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and textforming a part of the present disclosure.

A computer program product including a signal-bearing medium bearing oneor more instructions for acquiring inference data indicative of aninferred mental state of an authoring user in connection with at least aparticular item of an electronic message; one or more instructions foracquiring source identity data providing one or more identities of oneor more sources that is or are basis, at least in part, for theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser; one or more instructions for associating the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user with theparticular item; and one or more instructions for associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities of the one or moresources with the particular item. In addition to the foregoing, othercomputer program product aspects are described in the claims, drawings,and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a high-level block diagram of a network device operating ina network environment.

FIG. 2A shows another perspective of the inference data acquisitionmodule 30 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B shows another perspective of the source identity acquisitionmodule 31 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2C shows another perspective of the inference data associationmodule 32 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2D shows another perspective of the source identity associationmodule 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2E shows another perspective of the action module 34 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2F shows another perspective of the time module 36 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2G shows another perspective of the user interface 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2H shows another perspective of the one or more sensors 48 of FIG.1.

FIG. 2I shows another perspective of the electronic message 20 of FIG.1.

FIG. 2J shows another perspective of the receiving network device 12 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 2K shows another perspective of the one or more sensors 84 of thereceiving network device 12 of FIG. 2J.

FIG. 2L shows another perspective of the user interface 82 of thereceiving network device 12 of FIG. 2J.

FIG. 2M shows another perspective of the inference data acquisitionmodule 70 of the receiving network device 12 of FIG. 2J.

FIG. 2N shows another perspective of the remote network device 50 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a high-level logic flowchart of a process.

FIG. 4 is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the inference data acquisition operation 302 of FIG.3.

FIG. 5A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5C is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5D is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5E is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5F is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the observation operation 406 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inference data acquisition operation302 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting some morealternate implementations of the inference data acquisition operation302 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting some morealternate implementations of the inference data acquisition operation302 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the source identity acquisition operation 304 of FIG.1.

FIG. 8B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting some morealternate implementations of the source identity acquisition operation304 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the inference data association operation 306 of FIG.3.

FIG. 9B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the inclusion operation 902 of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9C is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting alternateimplementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9D is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9E is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9F is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9G is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 9H is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inclusion operation 918 of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 10A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the inference data association operation306 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting somemore alternate implementations of the inference data associationoperation 306 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10C is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting somemore alternate implementations of the inference data associationoperation 306 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depictingalternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11C is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12A is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12B is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12C is a high-level logic flowchart of a process depicting morealternate implementations of the source identity association operation308 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which one or more aspectsof various embodiments may be implemented. In the illustratedenvironment, an exemplary system 2 may include at least an authoringnetwork device 10 that may be used by an authoring user 18 in order to,for example, communicate through one or more wireless and/or wirednetworks 16. In some implementations, the authoring network device 10(and in some cases a remote network device 50) may be particularlydesigned and configured to facilitate the authoring user 18 in acquiringinference data indicative of an inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 in connection with a particular item 21 of an electronic message20 and associating such data to the particular item 21. Additionally,the authoring network device 10 (as well as the remote network device 50in some cases) may be further configured to acquire source identity dataproviding one or more identities of one or more sources that is or arethe basis, at least in part, for the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18 in connection with theparticular item 21, and to associate such data with the particular item21. In doing so, a recipient of the electronic message 20, such as areceiving user 22 (e.g., via a receiving network device 12) or a thirdparty (e.g., via a third party network device 14), may be facilitated incorrectly interpreting the proper meaning and intent of the particularitem 21 if and when the electronic message 20 is presented to therecipient.

In addition to acquiring and associating the inference data and thesource identity data to the particular item 21, other types ofinformation may be acquired and associated with the particular item 21.For instance, in some implementations, the authoring network device 10may acquire and associate with the particular item 21 a time stampand/or an indication of an action performed in connection with theparticular item 21. In some cases, such information may be useful inassociating the inference data (i.e., inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18) with the particular item21. Note that those skilled in the art will appreciate that althoughauthoring user 18/receiving user 22 is depicted in the figures as anindividual for sake of conceptual clarity, in some instances authoringuser 18/receiving user 22 may be considered as examples of sequentialusers, unless context dictates otherwise.

In various implementations, the electronic message 20 may be an emailmessage, a text message, an instant message (IM), an audio message, avideo message, or another type of electronic message. The particularitem 21 may be any part or portion of the electronic message 21. Forexample, if the electronic message 20 is an email message, then theparticular item 21 may be a passage, a paragraph, a sentence, a word, aphrase, an image, a symbol, an icon, a number, a letter, a format of aword or phrase (e.g., bold), or any other part or portion of the emailmessage.

As will be further described, an inferred mental state of a subject(e.g., authoring user 18 or receiving user 22) may be a mental statethat has been inferred based, at least in part, on one or more sensed ormeasured physical characteristics of the subject. The term “physicalcharacteristics” as used herein may refer to both external physicalcharacteristics (e.g., facial expressions, skin characteristics, and/oriris characteristics) and/or physiological characteristics (e.g., bloodoxygen or blood volume changes of a subject's brain, characteristicsassociated with the electrical activities of the subject's brain,cardiopulmonary characteristics, and so forth). In various embodiments,the sensing or measuring of the physical characteristics of the subjectmay be in connection with an “action” being executed by the subject withrespect to a particular item 21.

For example, suppose the authoring user 18 creates and sends an emailmessage (e.g., electronic message 20) containing a particular item 21,in this case, a passage that includes a humorous story, to the receivinguser 22 with the intent to lighten the mood of the receiving user 22.The authoring network device 10 may be particularly designed andconfigured to acquire inference data indicative of an inferred mentalstate of the authoring user 18 in connection with the creation of theparticular item 21 in the electronic message 20. In someimplementations, this may be accomplished at least in part by, forexample, sensing one or more physical characteristics of the authoringuser 18 during or proximate to the creation of the particular item 21.The inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 may then be associated or tagged to the particularitem 21 (e.g., passage).

In some implementations, after associating the inference data to theparticular item 21, the inference data may then be provided ortransmitted to a recipient (e.g., receiving user 22) in the electronicmessage 20 or by other means (e.g., in another electronic message). Indoing so, the receiving user 22 may deduce the inferred mental state ofthe authoring user 18 in connection with the creation of the particularitem 21 and may then be made aware of whether the receiving user 22 ismisunderstanding the intent, tone, and/or meaning of the particular item21 (e.g., the receiving user 22 becoming mistakenly distressed by theparticular item 21 because the recipient misunderstood the tone of thehumorous story) when viewing the particular item 21. That is, and aswill be further described, by comparing the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 in connection with the creation of the particular item21 with an inferred mental state of the receiving user 22 during orproximate to the presentation to the receiving user 22 of the particularitem 21, a determination may be made as to whether the receiving user 22is properly understanding the meaning of the particular item 21 duringor proximate to the presentation of the particular item 21.

The following example is provided that describes how inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 inconnection with a particular item 21 may be provided and used by areceiving user 22 in accordance with some implementations. As describedearlier, the receiving user 22 may be facilitated in understanding theproper intent and meaning of a particular item 21 in the electronicmessage 20 by being provided with inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18 in connection with an“action” (e.g., creation) executed by the authoring user 18 with respectto the particular item 21. As will be further described, an actionexecuted in connection with the particular item 21 may be in referenceto any one of a number of acts that can be executed, at least in part,by the authoring user 18 including, for example, creating, modifying,deleting, relocating, extracting, and so forth in connection with theparticular item 21. Note that unless indicated otherwise the term“particular item” as used herein merely refers to a specific item from,for example, a plurality of items that may be included in an electronicmessage 20 (see, for example, FIG. 2I).

After receiving the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user 18 from the authoring network device 10, acomparison of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21 and the inferred mental state ofthe receiving user 22 during or proximate to the presentation of theparticular item 21 to the receiving user 22 may be made at the receivingnetwork device 12. Note that the inferred mental state of the receivinguser 22 with respect to the presentation of the particular item 21 maybe determined based, at least in part, on observations of one or morephysical characteristics of the receiving user 22 during or proximate tothe presentation of the particular item 2. In any event, the comparisonof the inferred mental states of the authoring user 18 and the receivinguser 22 in connection with the particular item 21 may be made at thereceiving network device 12 in order to determine the extent ofcongruity between the mental states of the authoring user 18 and thereceiving user 22 with respect to the particular item 21. Alternatively,such comparison and congruity determination may be made at the thirdparty network device 14. By making such comparisons, the receiving user22 may be made aware as to whether the receiving user 22 properlyunderstood the intent and meaning of the particular item 21 when theparticular item 21 was presented to the receiving user 22.

For instance, in some cases if it is determined that there is verylittle congruence between the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 and the inferred mental state of the receiving user 22 inconnection with the particular item 21 then that may indicate that thereceiving user 22 has misunderstood the intent and/or meaning of theparticular item 21 when the particular item was presented to thereceiving user 22. Alternatively, a determination of very littlecongruence between the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18and inferred mental state of the receiving user 22 may, in some cases,actually indicate that the receiver user 22 did indeed understand theintent and meaning of the particular item 21 when the particular item 21was presented to the receiving user 22. For example, if the authoringuser 18 was in a sarcastic state of mind when creating the particularitem 21 with the intent to anger the receiving user 22 then there may bevery little congruence between the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 and the inferred mental state of the receiving user 22if the receiving user 22 properly understood the intent and meaning ofthe particular item 21.

In order to facilitate the receiving network device 12 (and/or the thirdparty network device 14) in correctly processing and/or interpreting theinference data that may be provided by the authoring network device 10,the authoring network device 10, in various implementations, may acquiresource identity data providing one or more identities of one or moresources (e.g., one or more sensors 48 that may be used to sense thephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18) that is or are thebasis for the inference data. The source identity data may then beassociated with the particular item 21 in order to make the sourceidentity data accessible or available to the receiving network device 12(and/or the third party network device 14). In various implementations,by making available the source identity data, the receiving networkdevice 12 (and/or the third party network device 14) may be facilitatedin properly interpreting the inference data as provided by the authoringnetwork device 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the authoring network device 10 may communicatewith the receiving network device 12, and in some instances, may alsocommunicate with a third party network device 14 via a wireless and/orwired network[s] 16. The authoring network device 10 may be any type ofcomputing and/or communication device such as a server (e.g., networkserver), a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a blackberry, and so forth. Insome implementations, the authoring network device 10 may b aworkstation and may interface or communicate directly with the authoringuser 18. In some alternative implementations, however, in which theauthoring network device 10 is, for example, a network server, theauthoring network device 10 may communicate with the authoring user 18through a local or remote network device 50 via, for example, thewireless and/or wired network[s] 16.

The authoring network device 10 may include various componentsincluding, for example, an inference data acquisition module 30, asource identity acquisition module 31, an inference data associationmodule 32, a source identity association module 33, an action module 34,a time module 36, one more email, instant message (IM), audio, and/orvideo applications 40, network communication interface 42, userinterface 44, one or more sensors 48, and/or memory 49. In various otherimplementations, other components that are not depicted may also beincluded in the authoring network device 10. For instance, apresentation module for presenting to the authoring user 18 (e.g., viauser interface 44 inference) data that is indicative of an inferredmental state of the authoring user 18 in connection with a particularitem 21 of an electronic message 20 may be included in the authoringnetwork device 10. Other components may also be included in theauthoring network device in various alternative implementations.

In various embodiments, the inference data acquisition module 30 may beconfigured to acquire inference data indicative of an inferred mentalstate of the authoring user 18 in connection with at least a particularitem 21 of an electronic message 20. Unless indicated otherwise, theterm “acquiring,” as used herein, may refer to the determination,computation, or reception of, for example, data. In some instances, theacquisition of the inference data may involve initially observing orsensing one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user 18using one or more sensors 48 that may include one or more integratedand/or external sensors.

As briefly described above, the authoring network device 10 may alsoinclude, among other things, a source identity acquisition module 31(e.g., for acquiring source identity data providing one or moreidentities of one or more sources that is or are basis, at least inpart, for the inference data acquired by the inference data acquisitionmodule 30), an inference data association module 32 (e.g., forassociating the inference data acquired by the inference dataacquisition module 30 with the particular item 21), a source identityassociation module 33 (e.g., for associating the source identity dataacquired by the source identity acquisition module 31 with theparticular item 21), an action module 34 (e.g., for executing one ormore actions in connection with the particular item 21), a time module36 (e.g., for providing a time stamp or time window in connection withan action to be performed in connection with the particular item 21),one or more of email, instant messaging (IM), audio, and/or videoapplications 40, a network communication interface 42, a user interface44, one or more sensors 48 (e.g., for sensing one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user 18), and/or memory 49 (e.g., whichmay be one or more memories for storing, for example, identities of oneor more sources for the inference data acquired by the inference dataacquisition module 30).

Referring now to FIG. 2A showing particular implementations of theinference data acquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10of FIG. 1. As illustrated, the inference data acquisition module 30 mayinclude one or more sub-modules including, for example, an inferencedata determination module 102, a physical characteristic observationmodule 104, a mental state inference module 106, and/or a physicalcharacteristic sensing module 108.

In brief, the inference data determination module 102 may beparticularly configured to, among other things, determine inference dataindicative of an inferred mental state of an authoring user 18 inconnection with a particular item 21 of an electronic message 20. Invarious implementations, such a determination may be based, at least inpart, on one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user 18.

The physical characteristic observation module 104, on the other hand,may be configured to observe one or more physical characteristics of theauthoring user 18 during or proximate to an action in connection withthe particular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18. In some implementations, the observance of the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18 may be through a timewindow that corresponds to a time window through which the action inconnection with the particular item 21 is performed. As will be furtherdescribed, the action to be performed, which may be executed using theaction module 34, may be any type of act that may be executed, at leastin part, by the authoring user 18 in direct connection with theparticular item 21. Examples of such acts may include, for example,creating, modifying, deleting, relocating, extracting, forwarding,storing, activating or deactivating, tagging, associating, categorizing,substituting, inserting, selecting, coloring, and so forth, inconnection with the particular item 21.

Alternatively, the action to be performed may be other types of actsthat may be performed by the authoring user 18 that may be indirectlyconnected to the particular item 21. For example, such indirect acts mayinclude, for example, the movement of a user interface (UI) pointingdevice with respect to the particular item 21 being displayed on a userdisplay, the specific movements of the authoring user's eyes (which maybe detected using a gaze tracking device 151) during or proximate to thepresentation of the particular item 21 through a user display, and thespecific postures, gestures, and/or sounds (e.g., as detected though oneor more sensors 48) made by the authoring user 18 in connection with thepresentation to the authoring user 18 of the particular item 21 throughthe user interface 44.

The mental state inference module 106 of the inference data acquisitionmodule 30 may be configured to infer a mental state for the authoringuser 18 in connection with the particular item 21 based, at least inpart, on one or more observed physical characteristics of the authoringuser 18. In some implementations, the mental state inference module 106,based on the one or more observed physical characteristics of theauthoring user 18, may infer a mental state for the authoring user 18that indicates that the authoring user 18 was or is in at least one ofstate of anger, a state of distress, and/or a state of pain. In the sameor different implementations, the mental state inference module 106 mayinfer, based on the one or more observed physical characteristics of theauthoring user 18, a mental state for the authoring user 18 thatindicates that the authoring user 18 was or is in at least one of astate of frustration, a state of approval or disapproval, a state oftrust, a state of fear, a state of happiness, a state of surprise, astate of inattention, a state of arousal, a state of impatience, a stateof confusion, a state of distraction, a state of overall mentalactivity, a state of alertness, and/or a state of acuity.

Finally, the physical characteristic sensing module 108 of the inferencedata acquisition module 30 may be configured to sense one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18 during or proximate toan action performed by the authoring user 18 and in direct or indirectconnection with the particular item 21. Various physical characteristicsof the authoring user 18 may be sensed using various sensors 48 invarious alternative embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, thephysical characteristic sensing module 108 employing the one or moresensors 48 may sense, during or proximate to an action in connectionwith the particular item 21 and performed, at least in party, by theauthoring user, at least one of cerebral, cardiopulmonary, and/orsystemic physiological characteristic associated with the authoring user18.

For instance, in some implementations, the physical characteristicsensing module 108 may be configured to sense, during or proximate to anaction in connection with the particular item 21 and performed, at leastin part, by the authoring user 18, at least one characteristic connectedwith electrical activity of a brain associated with the authoring user18. In the same or different implementations, the physicalcharacteristic sensing module 108 may be configured to sense, during orproximate to the action in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18, at least one ofblood oxygen or blood volume changes of a brain associated with theauthoring user 18. As will be further described, in the same ordifferent implementations, other types of physical characteristics ofthe authoring user 18 may also be sensed by the physical characteristicsensing module 108.

In various embodiments, the authoring network device 10 may include asource identity acquisition module 31 that is configured to acquiresource identity data that provides one or more identities of one or moresources that is or are the basis for the inference data obtained throughthe inference data acquisition module 30. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, thesource identity acquisition module 31, in various implementations, mayinclude one or more sub-modules including an authoring user identity(ID) acquisition module 201, an inference technique or model identity(ID) acquisition module 202, a database or library identity (ID)acquisition module 203, and/or a sensor identity (ID) acquisition module204. These modules may perform one or more acquisition operations toacquire one or more identities of one or more sources for inference dataacquired by the inference data acquisition module 30. For example, andas will be further described herein, the authoring user ID acquisitionmodule 201 may be configured to acquire the identity of the authoringuser 18. The inference technique or model ID acquisition module 202 incontrast may be configured to acquire the identity or identities of theinference technique and/or model that was used to derive or compute aninferred mental state of the authoring user 18 based on one or moresensed physical characteristics of the authoring user 18, while thedatabase or library ID acquisition module 203 may be configured toacquire the identity or identities of a database and/or a library (e.g.,storing physical characteristic patterns) that may be accessed by, forexample, the mental state inference module 106 in order to determine aninferred mental state of the authoring user 18. Finally, the sensoridentity ID acquisition module 204 may be configured to acquire theidentity or identities of one or more sensors 48 used to sense one ormore physical characteristics of the authoring user 18.

As indicated earlier, the authoring network device 10 may include aninference data association module 32 that may be configured to associateinference data (e.g., as acquired by the inference data acquisitionmodule 30) indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user18 with the particular item 21. Different approaches for associating theinference data with the particular item 21 may be employed in variousalternative implementations.

For example, in some implementations, the inference data may be insertedinto the particular item 21 or at a particular location (e.g., at alocation proximate to the location where the particular item 21 islocated) of the electronic message 20. In alternative embodiments,however, the inference data (i.e., inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18) may be inserted anywherein the electronic message 20, and association information (e.g., in theform of a link or name) that identifies the inference data may beprovided to the particular item 21. In still other embodiments, theinference data may be inserted anywhere in the electronic message 20,and information (e.g., in the form of a link or name) that identifiesthe particular item 21 may be provided to the inference data. In stillother embodiments, the inference data may be inserted into anotherelectronic message (e.g., a different electronic message from electronicmessage 20 that includes the particular item 21) and the inference dataand/or the particular item 21 may be provided with information thatlinks or associates the inference data with the particular item 21. Inyet other embodiments, the inference data may be stored or placed in,for example, a network server and the particular item 21 may be providedwith a network link such as a hyperlink to the inference data. Otherapproaches may be employed in various other alterative embodiments forassociating the inference data with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, and as illustrated in FIG. 2C, the inferencedata association module 32 may further include an inference datainclusion module 110 for inserting various data including the inferencedata into the electronic message 20. For example, in someimplementations, the inference data inclusion module 110 may beconfigured to include into the electronic message 20 a time stampassociated with the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user 18. In some implementations, the inferencedata inclusion module 110 may be configured to include into theelectronic message 20, one or more indications of one or more actionsperformed by the authoring user 18 in connection with the particularitem 21 (e.g., creation, modification, or deletion, for example, of theparticular item 21 as performed, at least in party, by the authoringuser 18). The inference data inclusion module 110 may also be furtherdesigned to include into the electronic message 20 various other typesof data in various alternative implementations as will be furtherdescribed herein.

The authoring network device 10 may also include a source identityassociation module 33 for associating source identity data (e.g., asprovided by the source identity acquisition module 31) with theparticular item 21. As in the case of the inference data associationmodule 32 described above, the source identity association module 33 maysimilarly employ different techniques in various alternativeimplementations for associating source identity data with the particularitem 21 including, for example, inserting the source identity data intothe particular item 21 or inserting the source identity data somewhereelse in the electronic message 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2D, the sourceidentity association module 33 may include, in various implementations,a source identity inclusion module 11 for including into the electronicmessage 20 the source identity data (e.g., source identity dataproviding one or more identities of one or more sources) as acquired bythe source identity acquisition module 31.

The authoring network device 10, in various embodiments, may include anaction module 34, which may be employed for executing one or moreactions in connection with the particular item 21. In someimplementations, the action module 34 may be embodied, at least in part,by one or more applications such as a text messaging application, anemail application, an instant messaging (IM) application, an audioapplication, and/or a video application. As illustrated in FIG. 2E, theaction module 34 may include, in various implementations, one or moresub-modules including, for example, a creation module 112, amodification module 113, a deletion module 114, a relocation module 115,an extraction module 116, a forwarding module 117, a storing module 118,an activating or deactivating module 119, a tagging module 120, anassociating module 121, a categorizing module 122, a substituting module123, and/or inserting module 124.

In some embodiments, the action module 34 may be configured to provideindications of actions (e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, relocating,extracting, and so forth) performed using the action module 34. Suchindications may be in the form of, for example, an identifier (e.g.,name) or symbolic representation of the actions performed.

In various implementations, the creation module 112 may be employed inorder to, among other things, create a particular item 21. Themodification module 113 may be employed in order to modify theparticular item 21. Modification in this context may refer to a numberof functions including, for example, changing the format of theparticular item 21 (e.g., highlighting or bolding a word), adding orsubtracting components into or from the particular item 21, and soforth. The deletion module 114 may be employed to, among other things,delete the particular item 21 from the electronic message 20. Therelocation module 115 may be used in order to relocate the particularitem 21 from, for example, a first location in the electronic message 20to a second location in the electronic message 20.

The extraction module 116 may be used in order to extract the particularitem 21 from the electronic message 20. In some implementations,extraction of the particular item 21 from the electronic message 20 mayinvolve merely copying of the particular item 21 from the electronicmessage 20. The forwarding module 117 may be employed in order to, amongother things, forward or send the particular item 21 to one or morerecipients. The storing module 118 may be used in order to store or savethe particular item 21. For instance, in some implementations, thestoring module 118 may be used in order to store the particular item 21into memory 49. The activating and deactivating module 119 may employedin order to, among other things, activate or deactivate the particularitem 21. For example, if the electronic message 21 is an email messageand the particular item 21 is some sort of video/animation image thatcan be activated or deactivated, then the activating and deactivatingmodule 119 may be used in order to activate or deactivate thevideo/animation image.

The tagging module 120 may be employed in order to, among other things,tag or attach data or information to the particular item 21. Forexample, in some implementation, the tagging module 120 may be used inorder to add some sort of indicator to the particular item 21 to, forexample, flag the particular item 21. In contrast, the associatingmodule 121 may be employed in order to associate the particular item 21with, for example, another item. For instance, in some implementations,the associating module 121 may be used in order to associate theparticular item 21 to another item by providing to the particular item21 an identity or link (e.g., hyperlink) to the another item that may ormay not be included in the electronic message 20.

The categorizing module 122 may be employed in order to categorize theparticular item 21. For instance, the categorizing module 122 may beused to in order to associate the particular item 21 to a group of itemsthat may or may not be included in the electronic message 20.Categorizing using the categorizing module 122 may also include labelingor tagging, for example, the particular item 21 in order to identify theparticular item 21 as belonging to a particular group or class. Thesubstituting module 123 may be employed in order to substitute orreplace the particular item 21 in the electronic message 20. Andfinally, the inserting module 124 may be employed in order to insert theparticular item 21 into the electronic message 20

Referring now to FIG. 2F showing particular implementations of the timemodule 36 of FIG. 1. The time module 36 may be configured to providevarious time elements that may be used in order to acquire and associateinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 in connection with an action performed by the authoring user 18with respect to the particular item 21. As depicted, the time module 36may include one or more sub-modules including, for example, a time stampmodule 125 (e.g., for providing one or more time stamps in connectionwith one or more actions executed with respect to the particular item21) and/or a time window module 126 (e.g., for providing one or moretime windows in connection with one or more actions executed withrespect to the particular item 21). The functional roles of thesesub-modules will be described in greater detail below in the context ofthe operations and processes to be described herein.

FIG. 2G shows particular implementations of the user interface 44 of theauthoring network device 10 of FIG. 1. As illustrated, the userinterfaced 44, which may actually be one or more user interfaces, mayinclude one or more of a user display 130, a user touch screen 131, akeypad 132, a mouse 133, a microphone 134, a speaker system 135, and/ora video system 136.

As described previously the authoring network device 10 may include amemory 49, which may actually include one or more volatile and/ornonvolatile memories (e.g., SRAM, DRAM, flash memory, hard or diskdrives, and so forth). The memory 49 may be employed in variousimplementations to store identities of one or more sources that is orare the basis for inference data (e.g., indicative of the inferredmental state of the authoring user 18 in connection with the particularitem 21) acquired by, for example, the inference data acquisition module30. In some implementations, the memory 49 may also be used in order tostore a database or library of physical characteristic patterns used toderive the inferred mental states of the authoring user 18. Other dataand information may also be stored in the memory in various alternativeembodiments.

Turning now to FIG. 2H showing particular implementations of the one ormore sensors 48 of FIG. 1. The one or more sensors 48, which may be oneor more integrated and/or external sensors of the authoring networkdevice 10, may be employed in order to sense one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to anaction performed by the authoring user 18 in connection with theparticular item 21. For example, and as will be further described, insome implementations, the one or more sensors 48 may be designed tosense one or more of cerebral, cardiopulmonary, and/or systemicphysiological characteristics of the authoring user 18 during orproximate to action performed by the authoring user 18 in connectionwith the particular item 21. In various embodiments, the one or moresensors 48 may include a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)device140, a functional near-infrared imaging (fNIR) device 141, anelectroencephalography (EEG) device 142, a magnetoencephalography (MEG)device 143, a galvanic skin sensor device 144, a heart rate sensordevice 145, a blood pressure sensor device 146, a respiration sensordevice 147, a facial expression sensor device 148, a skin characteristicsensor device 149, a voice response device 150, a gaze tracking device151, and/or an iris response device 152.

In some implementations, the one or more sensors 48 may include one ormore sensors that are capable of measuring various brain characteristicsof the authoring user 18 during or proximate to an action performed bythe authoring user 18 in connection with the particular item 21. Thesesensors may include, for example, a functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) device140, a functional near-infrared imaging (fNIR)device 141, an electroencephalography (EEG) device 142, and/or amagnetoencephalography (MEG) device 143. In some implementations, anFMRI device 140 and/or an fNIR device 141 may be employed in order tomeasure certain physiological characteristics of the brain of anauthoring user 18 including, for example, blood oxygen or blood volumechanges of the brain of the authoring user 18. In the same or differentimplementations, an EEG device 142 may be used to sense and measure theelectrical activities of the brain of the authoring user 18 while an MEGdevice 143 may be employed in order to sense and measure the magneticfields produced by electrical activities of the brain of the authoringuser 18.

Other type of devices may also be employed in order to measure the brainactivities of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to an actionperformed by the authoring user 18 in connection with the particularitem 21. Such devices may include, for example, a positron emissiontopography device. In various embodiments, the data collected from thesesensor devices may be further processed (e.g., by the inference module108) in order to determine an “inferred” mental state of the authoringuser 18 during or proximate to an action performed by the authoring user18 in connection with the particular item 21.

As will be further described, in some implementations, other types ofsensors such as those that measure other types of physicalcharacteristics may be employed as sensor[s] 48 (e.g., a galvanic skinsensor device 144, a heart rate sensor device 145, a blood pressuresensor device 146, a respiration sensor device 147, a facial expressionsensor device 148, a skin characteristic sensor device 149, a voiceresponse device 150, a gaze tracking device 151, and/or an iris responsedevice 152) in order to obtain data that may used (e.g., by the mentalstate inference module 106) to determine the inferred mental state orstates of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to an actionperformed by the authoring user 18 in connection with the particularitem 21.

As previously indicated, the one or more sensors 48 may be used in orderto observe one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user 18in connection with the particular item 21 and in connection with anaction (e.g., creation, modification, or deletion of the particular item21) performed by the authoring user 18 with respect to the particularitem 21. For example, the one or more sensors 48 may be used to senseone or more physical characteristics of the authoring user 18 during orproximate to a modification (e.g., action) by the authoring user 18 ofthe particular item 18. In some implementations, this may meanselectively “switching on” or activating the one or more sensors 48 onlyduring or proximate to the modification (e.g., action) of the particularitem 21 of the electronic message 20 in order to observe the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18. In contrast, the oneor more sensors 48 may be switched off or deactivated during orproximate to other actions that may be performed by the authoring user18 in connection with other items (e.g., another particular item 22,item 3, item 4, and so forth of FIG. 2G) of the electronic message 21.In alternative implementations, however, the one or more sensors 48 maybe continuously operated (e.g., not switched off and on as describedabove) in which case only data provided by the one or more sensors 48during or proximate to the modification of the particular item 21 may becollected or used (e.g., by the mental state inference module 106). Notethat the term “proximate” as used herein may refer to, partly during,immediately subsequent, or immediately preceding the action to be taken(e.g., modification) with respect to the particular item 18

Data obtained from observations made using one or more such sensors 48may be collected by, for example, the inference data acquisition module30 in order to acquire inference data indicative of an inferred mentalstate of the authoring user 18 in connection with, for example, theparticular item 21. In some embodiments, raw data collected from the oneor more sensors 48 may be further processed by the mental stateinference module 106 in order to provide an inferred mental state forthe authoring user 18 in connection with the particular item 21. Thus,the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 acquired by the inference data acquisition module 30may be in the form of raw data collected from the one or more sensors48, or in the form of processed data that directly infers a mental stateof the authoring user 18. As briefly described earlier, in addition tobeing associated with or connected to the particular item 21, inferencedata (e.g., as acquired by the inference data acquisition module 30) maybe connected or associated with a particular action related to theparticular item 21 and performed by the authoring user 18. Such anaction may include, for example, any one or more of creation,modification, deletion, relocation, extraction, forwarding, storing,activating or deactivating, tagging, associating, categorizing,substituting, inserting, and so forth, of the particular item 21 by theauthoring user 18.

FIG. 2I shows particular implementations of the electronic message 20 ofFIG. 1. The electronic message 20 may be any type of message that can beelectronically communicated including, for example, an email message, atext message, an instant message (IM), an audio message, a videomessage, and so forth. As shown the electronic message 20 may includemultiple items, which are depicted as a particular item 21, anotherparticular item 22, item 3, item 4, and so forth. An “item” may be anypart or portion of the electronic message 20. For example, if theelectronic message 20 is an email message, an item could be a passage, asentence, a paragraph, a word, a letter, a number, a symbol (e.g.,icon), an image, the format of text (e.g., bold, highlighting, fontsize, and so forth),

In various embodiments, the electronic message 20 may include inferencedata indicative of an inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21, which is depicted as inferencedata 23 in FIG. 2I. The electronic message 20 may also include sourceidentity data 25 providing one or more identities of one or more sourcesthat is or are the basis for the inference data 23 indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18. In some implementations,inference data 23 may only be connected or associated with particularitem 21 without being associated with the other items (e.g., anotherparticular item 22, item 3, item 4, and so forth) of the electronicmessage 20. More particularly, each inference data/source identity datapair (e.g., inference data 23/source identity data 25, inference data24/source identity data 26, and so forth as depicted in FIG. 2I) invarious implementations may be associated with corresponding items(e.g., particular item 21, another particular item 22, and so forth).For these implementations, each inference data (e.g., inference data 23,inference data 24, and so forth) may indicate an inferred mental stateof the authoring user 18 with respect to their associated item (e.g.,particular item 21, another particular item 22, and so forth) while eachsource identity data (e.g., source identity data 25, source identitydata 26, and so forth) may provide one or more identities of one or moresources that is or are the basis for the corresponding inference data(e.g., inference data 23, inference data 24, and so forth).

An inference data/source identity data pair may be associated with theirassociated item in any number of different ways in various alternativeimplementations. For instance, in various implementations particularitem 21 may be associated with inference data 23 and source identitydata 25 by locating or placing the inference data 23 and the sourceidentity data 25 at specified locations in the electronic message 20. Insome implementations, this may mean locating the inference data 23 andthe source identity data 25 within the particular item 21 or proximate(e.g., nearby) to the location of the particular item 21 in theelectronic message 20. Similarly, the other inference data (e.g.,inference data 24) and the other source identity data (e.g., sourceidentity data 26) included in the electronic message 20 may also beassociated with their corresponding item (e.g., another particular item22) by locating them at specified locations in the electronic message20. In other alternative approaches, an inference data/source identitydata pair (e.g., inference data 23/source identity data 25) may belocated anywhere (e.g., randomly) in the electronic message 20 and maybe associated with a corresponding item (e.g., particular item 21) byproviding to the inference data/source identity data pair (e.g.,inference data 23/source identity data 25) an identifier that identifiesthe corresponding item (e.g., particular item 21). In otherimplementations, however, rather than providing an identifier for thecorresponding item (e.g., particular item 21) to the inferencedata/source identity data pair (e.g., inference data 23/source identitydata 25), an identifier or identifiers of the inference data/sourceidentity data pair may be provided to the corresponding item.

In some alternative implementations, an inference data /source identitydata pair may be associated with more than one item. For instance, insome implementations, the inference data 23, which again is inferencedata indicative of an inferred mental state of the authoring user 18,may be connected to both the particular item 21 and another particularitem 22. Note that although inference data 23 and the source identitydata 25 are depicted as being located adjacent or in the vicinity of theparticular item 21 in the example electronic message 20 of FIG. 2I, inalternative implementations, the inference data 23 and/or the sourceidentity data 25 may be located elsewhere in the electronic message 20as described above. In yet other implementations, inference data 23and/or source identity data 25 may be placed in another electronicmessage (not depicted) instead of in the electronic message 20. In someimplementations, inference data 23 and/or source identity data 25 may beincluded in the electronic message 20 in the form of metadata.

Turning now to FIG. 2J, which shows the receiving network device 12 ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various implementations. More particularly,FIG. 2J depicts the receiving network device 12 having some of the samecomponents as the authoring network device 10 depicted in FIG. 1. Forinstance, and similar to the authoring network device 10, the receivingnetwork device 12 may include an inference data acquisition module 70,source identity acquisition module 71, a network communication interface78, one or more of email, IM, audio, and/or video applications 80, userinterface 82, one or more sensors 84, and memory 85. As will beexplained, with certain exceptions, each of these components may includethe same sub-components or sub-modules as those included in theircounterparts in the authoring network device 10. For example, the one ormore sensors 84 may include (see FIG. 2K) one or more of an fMRI device140′, an fNIR device 141′, an EEG device 142′, an MEG device 143′, andso forth, while the inference data acquisition module 70 may include(see FIG. 2M) an inference data determination module 102′, an mentalstate inference module 106′, an physical characteristic observationmodule 104′, and/or a physical characteristic sensing module 108′similar to their counterparts in the authoring network device 10.Further, these components may serve the same or similar functions asthose functions performed by their counterparts in the authoringnetworking device 10.

Similarly, the user interface 82 of the receiving network device 12 asillustrated in FIG. 2L may include the same type of components asincluded in the user interface 44 of the authoring network device 10.For instance, in various embodiments, user interface 82 may include auser display 130′, a user touch screen 131′, a keypad 132′, a mouse133′, a microphone 134′, a speaker system 135′, and/or a video system136′.

In addition to the above described components, the receiving networkdevice 12 may also include a reception module 72, an inferred mentalstate comparison module 74, and a presentation module 76. In brief, thereception module 72 may be configured to receive, among other things, aparticular item 21 of an electronic message 20, inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of an authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21 (which may be included in theelectronic message 21 or in another electronic message), source identitydata providing one or more identities of one or more sources that is orare basis for the inference data, a time stamp associated with theparticular item 21, and/or an indication of an action performed by theauthoring user 18 in connection with the particular item 21. Theinferred mental state comparison module 74 may be configured to, forexample, compare the inferred mental state of the receiving user 22(e.g., in connection with the presentation of the particular item 21 tothe receiving user 22) with the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 (e.g., in connection with action performed with respect to theparticular item 21).

Note that the inference data (e.g., inference data 23) indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user 18 that is received by thereception module 72 may be in at least one of two different forms. Inthe first form, the received inference data may be sensor provided data(e.g., “raw” data) of one or more physical characteristics of theauthoring user 18. In some implementations, such data may be furtherprocessed by the receiving network device 12 in order to derive one ormore inferred mental states of the authoring user 18. In the secondform, the received inference data may be “processed” data (e.g., asprocessed by the authoring network device 10 via, for example, themental state inference module 106) that may directly indicate oridentify an inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 in connectionwith an action performed by the authoring user 18 with respect to theparticular item 21.

Referring back to FIG. 2J, the receiving network device 12 may furtherinclude an inferred mental state comparison module 74. The inferredmental state comparison module 74 may be employed in order to compare aninferred mental state of the authoring user 18 with an inferred mentalstate of the receiving user 22 in connection with a particular item 21of an electronic message 20. Such a comparison may be used in order todetermine the congruity between the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 and the inferred mental state of the receiving user 22in connection with the particular item 21. The results of the comparisonand congruence determination may then be presented to the receiving user22 via the presentation module 76. Note that in various implementationsthe inferred mental state of the receiving user 22 may be obtained, atleast in part, by using one or more sensors 84 in order to observe oneor more physical characteristics of the receiving user 22 during orproximate to the presentation of the particular item 21.

In order to derive an inferred mental state of the receiving user 22during or proximate to the presentation (e.g., display) of theparticular item 21 to the receiving user 22, one or more physicalcharacteristics of the receiving user 22 may be observed during orproximate to the presentation of the particular item 21 to the receivinguser 22 using the one or more sensors 84. Referring to FIG. 2K whichshows the one or more sensors 84 of the receiving network device 12 inaccordance with various embodiments. The one or more sensors 80 mayinclude a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) device 140′, afunctional near-infrared imaging (fNIR) device 141′, anelectroencephalography (EEG) device 142′, a magnetoencephalography (MEG)device 143′, a galvanic skin sensor device 144′, a heart rate sensordevice 145′, a blood pressure sensor device 146′, a respiration sensordevice 147′, a facial expression sensor device 148′, a skincharacteristic sensor device 149′, a voice response device 150′, a gazetracking device 151′, and/or an iris response device 152′).

FIG. 2M illustrates the inference data acquisition module 70 of thereceiving network device 12 in accordance with various embodiments. Asillustrated, acquisition module 30 of the authoring network 10, theacquisition module 70 may include one or more sub-modules including aninference data determination module 102′, a physical characteristicobservation module 104′, a mental state inference module 106′, and/orphysical characteristic sensing module 108′, similar to the sub-modulesthat may be included in the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10. These sub-modules may perform functionssimilar to the functions performed by their counterparts in theinference data acquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10.For example, the inference data determination module 102′ may beemployed in order to determine inference data indicative of an inferredmental state of the receiving user 22 based on one or more physicalcharacteristics of the receiving user 22. The physical characteristicobservation module 104′ may be employed in order to observe the one ormore physical characteristics of the receiving user 22. The mental stateinference module 106′ may be employed in order to infer a mental statefor the receiving user 22 in connection with the particular item 21. Andthe physical characteristic sensing module 108′ may be employed in orderto sense one or more physical characteristics of the receiving user 22in connection with, for example, the presentation to the receiving user22 of the particular item 21.

In various embodiments, the inference modules 106/106′ of theacquisition modules 30/70 of the authoring network device 18 and thereceiving network device 12 may employ various techniques or models inorder to infer one or more mental states from observed physicalcharacteristics of a subject (e.g., authoring user 18 or receiving user22). In some implementations, this may mean associating particularphysical characteristics or patterns of physical characteristics of asubject to one or more mental states (i.e., inferred mental states).

For example, if the one or more sensors 48 depicted in FIG. 1 include anfMRI device 140, then the fMRI device 140 may be used in order to scanthe brain of the subject (e.g., authoring user 18) during or proximateto an action (e.g., creation, modification, deletion, and so forth)performed by the authoring user 18 in connection with the particularitem 21. As a result of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)procedure performed using the fMRI device 140, a profile or a pattern ofbrain activities (e.g., blood oxygen and/or blood volume changes of thebrain) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to the execution ofthe action in connection with the particular item 21 may be obtained.The determined “brain activity pattern” may then be compared to brainactivity patterns, which are physical characteristic patterns, that mayhave been previously recorded and stored in a database or library (eachof the stored brain activity patterns being linked with, for example,corresponding mental states). In some implementations, such a databaseor library may include information relative to the subject (e.g., inthis case, the authoring user 18) including, for example, log of rawsensor data or data of mappings between sensor data and known orinferred mental states that may be used in order to “calibrate” datareceived from the one or more sensors 48. Alternatively, a model may beemployed that associates, for example, different patterns of brainactivities with different mental states. Such a model may be used inconjunction with data received from other types of sensors (e.g., thosetypes of sensors that do not measure brain activities) in order toassociate, for example, a pattern of brain activity with one or moremental states.

Such a database or library may contain numerous brain activity patternsthat may have been obtained by sampling a number of people from thegeneral population, having, for example, similar metrics (e.g., age,gender, race, education, and so forth) as the subject (e.g., authoringuser 18). By asking each person what they felt (e.g., mental state) atthe time when their brain activity pattern was recorded, or by using,for example, some other established testing procedures, each brainactivity pattern stored in the library or database may be associatedwith one or more mental states. As a result, by comparing the determinedbrain activity pattern of the authoring user 18 with the brain activitypatterns (e.g., physical characteristic patterns) stored in the databaseor library, one or more mental states may be inferred from the observedphysical characteristics of the authoring user 18.

Referring to FIG. 2L, which illustrates the remote network device 50 ofFIG. 1, in accordance with various embodiments. As briefly describedearlier, a remote network device 50 may be employed in somecircumstances when, for example, the authoring network device 10 is anetwork server and a remote network device 50 may be needed in order tocollect data with respect to the particular item 21 and/or inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21. As depicted, the remote networkdevices 50 may include components similar to those components depictedin the authoring network device 10 of FIG. 1. For example, and asillustrated, the remote network device 50 may include an inference dataacquisition module 30″, a source identity acquisition module 31″. aninference data association module 32,″a source identity associationmodule 33, an action module 34″, a time module 36″, one or more email,IM, audio, and/or video applications 40″, a network communicationinterface 42″, a user interface 44″, and one or more sensors 48″. Thesecomponents may further include sub-components and/or sub-modules similarto the sub-components and sub-modules previously depicted for theauthoring network device 10.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the various components (e.g., inference dataacquisition module 30, source identity acquisition module 31, inferencedata association module 32, source identity association module 33,action module 34, time module 36, and so forth) along with theirsub-components or sub-modules included with the authoring network device10 may be embodied by hardware, software and/or firmware. For example,in some implementations the inference data acquisition module 30, thesource identity acquisition module 31, the inference data associationmodule 32, the source identity association module 33, the action module34, and the time module 36 may be implemented with a processor (e.g.,microprocessor, controller, and so forth) executing computer readableinstructions (e.g., computer program product) stored in a storage medium(e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory) such as a signal-bearing medium.Alternatively, hardware such as application specific integrated circuit(ASIC) may be employed in order to implement such modules in somealternative implementations.

FIG. 3 illustrates an operational flow 300 representing exampleoperations related to acquisition and association of inference dataindicative of an inferred mental state of an authoring user inconnection with at least a particular item of an electronic message. Invarious embodiments, the operational flow 300 may be executed by, forexample, the authoring network device 10 or the remote network device 50of FIG. 1. That is, although operational flow 300 and the subsequentprocesses and operations (e.g., see FIGS. 4 to 12C) will be generallydescribed in the context of the authoring network device 10 executingsuch processes and operations, these processes and operations may alsobe executed via the remote network device 50 in various alternativeimplementations.

In FIG. 3 and in the following figures that include various examples ofoperational flows, discussions and explanations may be provided withrespect to the above-described exemplary environment of FIG. 1, and/orwith respect to other examples (e.g., as provided in FIGS. 2A-2N) andcontexts. However, it should be understood that the operational flowsmay be executed in a number of other environments and contexts, and/orin modified versions of FIGS. 1 and 2A-2N. Also, although the variousoperational flows are presented in the sequence(s) illustrated, itshould be understood that the various operations may be performed inother orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performedconcurrently.

Further, in FIG. 3 and in following figures, various operations may bedepicted in a box-within-a-box manner. Such depictions may indicate thatan operation in an internal box may comprise an optional exampleembodiment of the operational step illustrated in one or more externalboxes. However, it should be understood that internal box operations maybe viewed as independent operations separate from any associatedexternal boxes and may be performed in any sequence with respect to allother illustrated operations, or may be performed concurrently.

In any event, after a start operation, the operational flow 300 may moveto an inference data acquisition operation 302, where acquiringinference data indicative of an inferred mental state of an authoringuser in connection with at least a particular item of an electronicmessage may be performed by, for example, the authoring network device10 of FIG. 1. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 ofthe authoring network device 10 acquiring (e.g., by receiving from aremote network device 50 and/or by determining or deriving locally atthe authoring network device 10) inference data indicative of aninferred mental state (e.g., state of happiness, state of anger, stateof distress, and so forth) an authoring user 18 in connection with atleast a particular item 21 of an electronic message 20.

The inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 to be acquired, which may be referred herein as simply“inference data,” may be in the form of raw or unprocessed datacollected from, for example, one or more sensors 48 (e.g., an fMRIdevice 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, and/or an MEG device143), which when processed, may provide data that identifies one or moreinferred mental states (e.g., state of frustration, state of trust,state of fear, and so forth) of the authoring user 18. Alternatively,the inference data to be acquired may be in the form of data (e.g., asprovided by a mental state inference module 106 of the acquisitionmodule 30 as depicted in FIG. 2A) that may directly identify one or moreinferred mental states of the authoring user 18.

Operational flow 300 may further include a source identity acquisitionoperation 304 where acquiring source identity data providing one or moreidentities of one or more sources that is or are basis, at least inpart, for the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state ofthe authoring user may be performed by, for example, the authoringnetwork device 10 of FIG. 1. For instance, the source identityacquisition module 31 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring(e.g., by receiving or retrieving) source identity data providing one ormore identities (e.g., the type or specific model number of the one ormore sensors 48) of one or more sources (e.g., fMRI device 140, fNIRdevice 141, EEG device 142, MEG device 143, and so forth) that is or arethe basis, at least in part, for the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of happiness, state of anger, stateof frustration, and so forth) of the authoring user 10.

The operational flow 300 may then move to an inference data associationoperation 306 where associating the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user with the particular item maybe executed by, for example, the authoring network device 10. Forexample, the inference data association module 32 of the authoringnetwork device 10 associating data (e.g., sensor data as provided by oneor more sensors 48 and/or inference data as provided by a mental stateinference module 106) indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g.,state of happiness, state of anger, state of distress, and so forth) ofthe authoring user 18 with the particular item 21. In variousalternative implementations, the associating of the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 withthe particular item 21 may involve linking the inference data to theparticular item 21, including the inference data into the particularitem 21 or the electronic message 20, or some other way of linking theinference data to the particular item 21.

The operation flow 300 may also include a source identity associationoperation 308 in which associating the source identity data providingone or more identities of the one or more sources with the particularitem may be executed by, for example, the authoring network device 10.For instance, and more particularly, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name or names) ofthe one or more sources (e.g., inference technique and/or model used toinfer a mental state for the authoring user 18) with the particular item21.

A number of approaches may be employed in order to associate the sourceidentity data with the particular item 21 in various alternativeimplementations. For example, various implementations, the associatingof the source identity data with the particular item 21 may involvelinking the source identity data with the particular item 21, includingthe source identity data into the particular item 21 or into theelectronic message 20, or some other way of associating or relating thesource identity data to the particular item 21.

In various embodiments, the inference data acquisition operation 302 ofFIG. 3 may include one or more additional operations as illustrated in,for instance, FIG. 4. For example, in some embodiments, the acquisitionoperation 302 may include an operation 402 for acquiring inference dataindicative of an inferred mental state or states of the authoring userin connection with the particular item and in connection with anotherparticular item of the electronic message. That is, inference dataindicative of an inferred mental state or states of the authoring user18 that may be connected to more than one item of an electronic messagemay be acquired in various alternative embodiments. For instance, insome implementations, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring (e.g., as directly or indirectlyprovided by one or more sensors 48 including an fMRI device 140, an fNIRdevice 141, an EEG device 142, and/or MEG device 143) inference dataindicative of an inferred mental state or states (e.g., state of anger,state of distress, and/or state of pain) of the authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21 and in connection with anotherparticular item 22 of the electronic message 20.

In some embodiments, the acquisition operation 302 may include adetermination operation 404 for determining the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user based onone or more physical characteristics of the authoring user. Forinstance, in some implementations, the inference data determinationmodule 102 (see FIG. 2A) of the authoring network device 10 determiningthe inference data indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., astate of frustration, a state of approval or disapproval, a state oftrust, a state of fear, a state of happiness, a state of surprise, astate of inattention, a state of arousal, a state of impatience, a stateof confusion, a state of distraction, a state of overall mentalactivity, a state of alertness, or a state of acuity) of the authoringuser 19 based on one or more physical characteristics (e.g., as sensedby one or more sensors including, for example, a galvanic skin sensordevice 144, a heart rate sensor device 145, and so forth) of theauthoring user 18.

In some embodiments the determination operation 404 may include one ormore additional operations. For example, in some embodiments, thedetermination operation 404 may include an observation operation 406 forobserving the one or more physical characteristics of the authoring userduring or proximate to an action in connection with the particular itemand performed, at least in part, by the authoring user. For instance, insome implementation, the physical characteristic observation module 104(see FIG. 2A) of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g. via oneor more sensors 48 including, for example, blood pressure sensor device146, respiration sensor device 147, facial expression sensor device 148,and so forth) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., bloodpressure, respiration, facial expressions, and so forth) of theauthoring user 18 during or proximate to an action (e.g., any one ormore of creating, modifying, deleting, relocating, and so forth, of theparticular item 21) in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

In some embodiments, the observation operation 406 may further includeone or more additional operations. For example, and as illustrated inFIG. 5A, the observation operation 406 in some embodiments may includean inference operation 502 for inferring a mental state of the authoringuser based, at least in part, on the observing of the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user. For instance, in someimplementations, the mental state inference module 106 of the authoringnetwork device 10 inferring a mental state of the authoring user 18based, at least in part, on the observing (e.g., via one or more sensors48 including, for example, an EEG device 142 and/or MEG device143) ofthe one or more physical characteristics (e.g., brain activity) of theauthoring user 18 during or proximate to the action (e.g., any one ormore of creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection withthe particular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18. For these implementations, the inference to a particular mentalstate for the authoring user 18 may be made by, for example, determininga brain activity pattern for the authoring user 18 based on dataprovided by the one or more sensors 48 (e.g., an EEG device 142 and/oran MEG device143) and then comparing the determined brain activitypattern of the authoring user 18 to brain activity patterns that may bestored in a database or library (each of the stored brain activitypatterns being linked with, for example, a corresponding mental state).

As further depicted in FIG. 5A, inference operation 502 may furtherinclude one or more additional operations in various alternativeembodiments. For example, in some embodiments, inference operation 502may include an operation 504 for inferring a mental state of theauthoring user indicating that the authoring user was in at least one ofa state of anger, a state of distress, or a state of pain during orproximate to the action in connection with the particular item. Forinstance, the mental state inference module 106 of the authoring networkdevice 10 inferring a mental state of the authoring user 18 (e.g., basedon data provided by one or more sensors 48 including, for example, anfMRI device 140 and/or an fNIR device 141) indicating that the authoringuser 18 was in at least one of a state of anger, a state of distress, ora state of pain during or proximate to the action (e.g., any one more ofextracting, forwarding, storing, and so forth) in connection with theparticular item 21.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the inference operation 502 mayinclude an operation 506 for inferring a mental state of the authoringuser indicating that the authoring user was in at least one of a stateof frustration, a state of approval or disapproval, a state of trust, astate of fear, a state of happiness, a state of surprise, a state ofinattention, a state of arousal, a state of impatience, a state ofconfusion, a state of distraction, a state of overall mental activity, astate of alertness, or a state of acuity during or proximate to theaction in connection with the particular item as depicted in FIG. 5A.For instance, the mental state inference module 106 of the authoringnetwork device 10 inferring a mental state of the authoring user 18(e.g., based on data provided by one or more sensors 48 including, forexample, an EEG device 142 and/or an MEG device 143) indicating that theauthoring user 18 was in at least one of a state of frustration, a stateof approval or disapproval, a state of trust, a state of fear, a stateof happiness, a state of surprise, a state of inattention, a state ofarousal, a state of impatience, a state of confusion, a state ofdistraction, a state of overall mental activity, a state of alertness,or a state of acuity during or proximate to the action (e.g., any one ormore of activating, deactivating, tagging, associating, and so forth) inconnection with the particular item 21.

In some embodiments, the observation operation 406 may include one ormore sensing operations as illustrated in FIGS. 5B and 5C. For example,in some implementations, the observation operation 406 may include asensing operation 507 for sensing, during or proximate to the action inconnection with the particular item and performed, at least in part, bythe authoring user, at least one cerebral characteristic associated withthe authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 5B. For instance, the physicalcharacteristic sensing module 108 (see FIG. 2A) of the authoring networkdevice 10 sensing (e.g., via an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, anEEG device 142, and/or an MEG device 143), during or proximate to theaction (e.g., any one or more of categorizing, substituting, inserting,and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21 and performed,at least in part, by the authoring user 18, at least one cerebralcharacteristic (e.g., characteristic associated with electrical activityor blood oxygen changes of a brain) associated with the authoring user18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 508 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least one cardiopulmonarycharacteristic associated with the authoring user as illustrated in FIG.5B. For instance, the physical characteristic sensing module 108 of theauthoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., via a heart rate sensordevice 145), during or proximate to the action (e.g., any one or more ofcreating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection with theparticular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18, at least one cardiopulmonary characteristic (e.g., heart rate)associated with the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 509 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least one systemicphysiological characteristic associated with the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 5B. For instance, the physical characteristicsensing module 108 of the authoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., viaa blood pressure sensor device 146 and/or a respiration sensor device147), during or proximate to the action (e.g., any one or more ofrelocating, extracting, extracting, and so forth) in connection with theparticular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18, at least one systemic physiological characteristic (e.g., bloodpressure and/or respiration) associated with the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 510 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least one of galvanic skinresponse, heart rate, blood pressure, or respiration associated with theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 5B. For instance, the physicalcharacteristic sensing module 108 of the authoring network device 10sensing (e.g., via a galvanic skin sensor device 144, a heart ratesensor device 145, a blood pressure sensor device 146, and/orrespiration sensor device 147), during or proximate to the action (e.g.,any one or more of forwarding, storing, activating or deactivating,tagging, and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18, at least one ofgalvanic skin response, heart rate, blood pressure, or respirationassociated with the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 511 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least one of blood oxygen orblood volume changes of a brain associated with the authoring user asillustrated ion FIG. 5B. For instance, the physical characteristicsensing module 108 of the authoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., viaan fMRI device 140 and/or fNIR device 141), during or proximate to theaction (e.g., any one or more of associating, categorizing, substitutinginserting, and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18, at least one ofblood oxygen or blood volume changes of a brain associated with theauthoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 512 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least a characteristicconnected with electrical activity of a brain associated with theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 5C. For instance, the physicalcharacteristic sensing module 108 of the authoring network device 10sensing (e.g., via an EEG device 142 and/or an MEG device 143), duringor proximate to the action (e.g., any one or more of associating,creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection with theparticular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18, at least a characteristic connected with electrical activity ofa brain associated with the authoring user 18. For example, if an MEGdevice 143 is employed for sensing physical characteristics of theauthoring user 18 then the magnetic fields produced by the electricalactivities of the brain of the authoring user 18 may be sensed by theMEG device 143.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 513 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, at least one of facial expression,skin characteristic, voice characteristic, eye movement, or irisdilation associated with the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 5C.For instance, the physical characteristic sensing module 108 of theauthoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., via a facial expressionsensor device 148, skin characteristic sensor device 149, voice responsedevice 150, gaze tracking device 151, and/or iris response device 152),during or proximate to the action (e.g., one or more of relocating,extracting forwarding, and so forth) in connection with the particularitem 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18, atleast one of facial expression, skin characteristic, voicecharacteristic, eye movement, or iris dilation associated with theauthoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 514 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user in a response associated with afunctional magnetic resonance imaging procedure on the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 5C. For instance, the physical characteristicsensing module 108 of the authoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., viaan fMRI device 140), during or proximate to the action (e.g., one ormore of storing, activating or deactivating, tagging, associating, andso forth) in connection with the particular item 21 and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user 18, one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., blood oxygen or blood volume changes of thebrain) of the authoring user 18 in a response associated with afunctional magnetic resonance imaging procedure on the authoring user18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a sensing operation 515 for sensing, during or proximate tothe action in connection with the particular item and performed, atleast in part, by the authoring user, one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user in a response associated with afunctional near infrared procedure on the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 5C. For instance, the physical characteristic sensing module 108of the authoring network device 10 sensing (e.g., via an fNIR device141), during or proximate to the action (e.g.,.one or more ofcategorizing, substituting, inserting, and so forth) in connection withthe particular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18, one or more physical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen orblood volume changes of the brain) of the authoring user 18 in aresponse associated with a functional near infrared procedure on theauthoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include a terminating operation 518 for terminating the observing ofthe one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user during orproximate to an action or actions performed by the authoring user and inconnection with other item or items of the electronic message asillustrated in FIG. 5D. For instance, the physical characteristicobservation module 104 (see FIG. 2A) of the authoring network device 10terminating the observing (e.g., via one or more of fMRI device 140,fNIR device 141, EEG device 142, MEG device 143, and so forth) of theone or more physical characteristics (e.g., cerebral characteristics) ofthe authoring user 18 during or proximate to an action or actions (e.g.,one or more of creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) performed bythe authoring user 18 and in connection with other item or items (e.g.,another particular item 22, item 3, and/or item 4 in FIG. 2G) of theelectronic message 20. In some implementations, this may mean that thephysical characteristic observation module 104 controlling the one ormore sensors 48 (e.g., via one or more of fMRI device 140, fNIR device141, EEG device 142, MEG device 143, and so forth) to selectivelyactivating the sensors 48 only at or around the time when an action oractions is being performed by the authoring user 18 in connection withthe particular item 21, and to deactivating the sensors 48 when theauthoring user 18 is performing an action or actions in connection withother item or items (e.g., another particular item 22, item 3, and/oritem 4 in FIG. 2G) of the electronic message 20.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 520 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to acreating of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 5D. For example, the physical characteristic observation module 104of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via an fMRI device140) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen orblood volume changes of a brain) of the authoring user 18 during orproximate to a creating (e.g., via a creation module 112) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 522 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to adeleting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 5D. For example, the physical characteristic observation module 104of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via an fNIR device141) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen orblood volume changes of a brain) of the authoring user 18 during orproximate to a deleting (e.g., via a deletion module 114) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 524 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to amodifying of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 5D. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via an EEGdevice 142) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., electricalactivity of the brain) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to amodifying (e.g., via a modification module 113) of the particular item21 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 526 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to arelocating in the electronic message of the particular item by theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 5E. For instance, the physicalcharacteristic observation module 104 of the authoring network device 10observing (e.g., via an MEG device 143) the one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., a characteristic associated with electricalactivity of the brain) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to arelocating (e.g., via a relocation module 115) in the electronic message20 of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 528 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to anextracting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 5E. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a galvanicskin sensor device) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g.,galvanic skin response) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate toan extracting (e.g., via an extraction module 116) of the particularitem 21 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 530 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to aforwarding of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 5E. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a heart ratesensor device 145) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., heartrate) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to a forwarding(e.g., via a forwarding module 117) of the particular item 21 by theauthoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 532 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to astoring of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 5E. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a bloodpressure sensor device 146) the one or more physical characteristics(e.g., blood pressure) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to astoring (e.g., via a storing module 118) of the particular item 21 bythe authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 534 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to anactivating or deactivating of the particular item by the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 5E. For instance, the physical characteristicobservation module 104 of the authoring network device 10 observing(e.g., via a respiration sensor device 147) the one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., respiration) of the authoring user 18 during orproximate to an activating or deactivating (e.g., via an activating anddeactivating module 119) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 536 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to atagging of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 5E. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a facialexpression sensor device 148) the one or more physical characteristics(e.g., facial expression) of the authoring user 18 during or proximateto a tagging (e.g., via a tagging module 120) of the particular item 21by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 538 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to anassociating by the authoring user of the particular item to another itemas illustrated in FIG. 5F. For instance, the physical characteristicobservation module 104 of the authoring network device 10 observing(e.g., via a skin characteristic sensor device 149) the one or morephysical characteristics (e.g., skin characteristics) of the authoringuser 18 during or proximate to an associating (e.g.., via an associatingmodule 121) by the authoring user 18 of the particular item 21 toanother item (e.g., item 3 of electronic message 20 of FIG. 2G).

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 540 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to acategorizing by the authoring user of the particular item as illustratedin FIG. 5F. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a voiceresponse device 150) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g.,voice characteristics) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to acategorizing (e.g., via a categorizing module 122) by the authoring user18 of the particular item 21.

In the same or alternative embodiments, the observation operation 406may include an observation operation 542 for observing the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to asubstituting by the authoring user of the particular item as illustratedin FIG. 2F. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via a gazetracking device 151) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., eyeor iris movement) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to asubstituting (e.g., via a substituting module 123) by the authoring user18 of the particular item 21.

In some embodiments, the observation operation 406 may include anobservation operation 544 for observing the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user during or proximate to aninserting by the authoring user of the particular item as illustrated inFIG. 5F. For instance, the physical characteristic observation module104 of the authoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via irisresponse device 152) the one or more physical characteristics (e.g..,iris dilation) of the authoring user 18 during or proximate to aninserting (e.g., via an inserting module 124) by the authoring user 18of the particular item 21 into the electronic message 20.

In various alternative embodiments, the observation of the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18 may occur during orproximate to other types of actions (which may be directly or indirectlyconnected to the particular item 21) other than those described above(e.g., creating, deleting, modifying, and so forth). For instance, insome alternative implementations, the observation of the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18 may occur during orproximate to a searching operation (e.g., in order to find particularinformation) initiated by the authoring user 18 and that may have beenprompted while accessing the particular item 21.

In some embodiments, the observation operation 406 may include anobservation operation 546 for observing the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user through a time window asillustrated in FIG. 2F. For instance, the physical characteristicobservation module 104 of the authoring network device 10 observing(e.g., via an fMRI device 140 and/or an fNIR device 141) the one or morephysical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen or blood volume changes ofa brain) of the authoring user 18 through a time window (e.g., asprovided by a time window module 126 of time module 36—see FIG. 2D).

In some embodiments, the observation operation 546 may also include anobservation operation 548 for observing the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user through a time window thatcorresponds to a time window through which the action in connection withthe particular item is performed as illustrated in FIG. 2F. Forinstance, the physical characteristic observation module 104 of theauthoring network device 10 observing (e.g., via an EEG device 142) theone or more physical characteristics (e.g., electrical activities of thebrain) of the authoring user 18 through a time window (e.g., as providedby a time window module 126) that corresponds to a time window (e.g.,may be the same time window or a different time window) through whichthe action (e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) inconnection with the particular item 21 is performed.

In various embodiments, the acquisition operation 302 may include anoperation 602 for acquiring with the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user a time stamp associated withobserving of one or more physical characteristics of the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 6. For instance, the inference data acquisitionmodule 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring with theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 a time stamp (e.g., as provided by a time stamp module 125 of atime module 36—see FIG. 2D) associated with observing (e.g., asperformed, at least in part, by one or more sensors 48) of one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18.

In some embodiments, operation 602 may further include an operation 604for acquiring with the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user a time stamp associated with the observingof the one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user, thetime stamp corresponding with a time stamp associated with an actionperformed by the authoring user and connected to the particular item asfurther illustrated in FIG. 6. For instance, the inference dataacquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring withthe inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user 18 a time stamp (e.g., as provided by a time stamp module125) associated with the observing of the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user 18, the time stamp correspondingwith a time stamp (e.g., may be the same or a different time stamp)associated with an action (e.g., at least one of creating, modifying,deleting, and so forth) performed by the authoring user 18 and connectedto the particular item 21.

In various embodiments, inference data acquisition operation 302 mayincluded an operation 702 for acquiring an indication of an actionperformed by the authoring user in connection with the particular itemas illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. For instance, the inference dataacquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring anindication (e.g., an identifier or symbolic representation) of an action(e.g., via an action module 34) performed by the authoring user 18 inconnection with the particular item 21.

In some embodiments, operation 702 may include one or more additionaloperations as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. For example, in particularembodiments operation 702 may include an operation 704 for acquiring anindication that indicates that the particular item was created by theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 7A. For instance, the inferencedata acquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiringan indication (e.g., as provided by action module 34) that indicatesthat the particular item 21 was created (e.g., via a creation module112) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 706 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was modified by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7A. For instance, inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasmodified (e.g., via a modification module 113) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 708 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was deleted by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG.7A. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasdeleted (e.g., via a deletion module 114) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 710 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was relocated in the electronic message by the authoringuser as illustrated in FIG. 7A. For instance, the inference dataacquisition module 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring anindication (e.g., as provided by action module 34) that indicates thatthe particular item 21 was relocated (e.g., via a relocation module 115)in the electronic message 20 by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 712 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was extracted by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7A. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasextracted (e.g., via an extraction module 116) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 714 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was forwarded by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7A. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasforwarded (e.g., via a forwarding module 117) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 716 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was stored by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG.7B. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasstored (e.g., via a storing module 118) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 718 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was activated or deactivated by the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 7B. For instance, the inference data acquisitionmodule 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring an indication(e.g., as provided by action module 34) that indicates that theparticular item 21 was activated or deactivated (e.g., via an activatingand deactivating module 119) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 720 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was tagged by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG.7B. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wastagged (e.g., via a tagging module 120) by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 722 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was associated to another item by the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 7B. For instance, the inference data acquisitionmodule 30 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring an indication(e.g., as provided by action module 34) that indicates that theparticular item 21 was associated (e.g., via an associating module 121)to another item by the authoring user 18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 724 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was categorized by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7B. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wascategorized (e.g., via a categorizing module 122) by the authoring user18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 726 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was substituted by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7B. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wassubstituted (e.g.., via a substituting module 123) by the authoring user18.

In the same or alternative embodiments, operation 702 may include anoperation 728 for acquiring an indication that indicates that theparticular item was inserted by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 7B. For instance, the inference data acquisition module 30 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring an indication (e.g., as providedby action module 34) that indicates that the particular item 21 wasinserted (e.g., via an inserting module 124) into the electronic message20 by the authoring user 18.

In various embodiments, the source identity acquisition operation 304depicted in FIG. 3 may include one or more additional operations. Forexample, in some implementations, source identity acquisition operation304 may include an operation 802 for acquiring the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources from the oneor more sources as illustrated in FIG. 8A. For instance, the sourceidentity acquisition module 31 of the authoring network device 10acquiring the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., name or address) of the one or more sources (e.g., database orlibrary storing physical characteristics patterns that may be used inorder to derive an inferred mental state for the authoring user 18) fromthe one or more sources.

In the same or different implementations, the source identityacquisition operation 304 may include an operation 804 for acquiring thesource identity data providing one or more identities of the one or moresources from memory as illustrated in FIG. 8A. For instance, the sourceidentity acquisition module 31 of the authoring network device 10acquiring the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., identifying the model numbers or the sensor types of the one ormore sensors 48 that may be used to acquire the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18) of theone or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48 including, forexample, any one or more of an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, andso forth) from memory 49.

In some implementations, the source identity acquisition operation 304may include an operation 806 for acquiring an identity associated withthe authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 8A. For example, the authoringuser identification (ID) acquisition module 201 of the authoring networkdevice 10 acquiring (e.g., from memory 49) an identity (e.g., user nameor identification) associated with the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, the source identity acquisition operation 304may include an operation 808 for acquiring an identity associated withan inference technique or model used to derive the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 8A. For instance, the inference technique or modelidentification (ID) acquisition module 202 of the authoring networkdevice 10 acquiring (e.g., from memory 49) an identity (e.g., name)associated with an inference technique or model used to derive theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, the source identity acquisition operation 304may include an operation 810 for acquiring an identity associated with adatabase or library used to derive the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 8A.For instance, the database or library acquisition module 203 of theauthoring network device 10 acquiring (e.g., from memory 49) an identity(e.g., name or address) associated with a database or library used toderive the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g.,state of happiness, state of anger, and so forth) of the authoring user18.

In some implementations, the source identity acquisition operation 304may include an operation 812 for acquiring source identity dataproviding one or more identities of one or more sensors used to senseone or more physical characteristics of the authoring user, theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser being based, at least in part, on the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user sensed by the one or more sensorsas illustrated in FIG. 8A. For instance, the sensor identification (ID)acquisition module 204 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring(e.g., from memory 49 or from the one or more sensors 48) sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., sensor type orsensor model number) of one or more sensors 48 (e.g., fMRI device 140,an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, and/or MEG device 143) used tosense one or more physical characteristics (e.g., cerebralcharacteristic) of the authoring user 18, the data (e.g., as provideddirectly by the one or more sensors 48 or by the mental state inferencemodule 106) indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser 18 being based, at least in part, on the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user 18 sensed by the one or moresensors 48.

In various implementations, operation 812 may include one or moreadditional operations as illustrated in FIG. 8B. For example, in someimplementations, operation 812 may include an operation 814 foracquiring an identity for at least a functional magnetic resonance image(fMRI) device that was used to sense the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user. For instance, the sensoridentification (ID) acquisition module 204 of the authoring networkdevice 10 acquiring an identity (e.g., sensor type or model number) forat least a functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) device 140 thatwas used to sense the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., bloodoxygen or blood volume changes of a brain) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 812 may include an operation 816 foracquiring an identity for at least a functional near infrared (fNIR)device that was used to sense the one or more physical characteristicsof the authoring user. For instance, the sensor identification (ID)acquisition module 204 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring fromthe memory 49 or from the one or more sensors 48 an identity (e.g.,sensor type or model number) for at least a functional near infrared(fNIR) device 141 that was used to sense the one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., blood oxygen or blood volume changes of a brain)of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 812 may include an operation 818 foracquiring an identity for at least a magnetoencephalography (MEG) devicethat was used to sense the one or more physical characteristics of theauthoring user. For instance, the sensor identification (ID) acquisitionmodule 204 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring from the memory49 or from the one or more sensors 48 an identity (e.g., sensor type ormodel number) for at least a magnetoencephalography (MEG) device 143that was used to sense the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., acerebral characteristic including, for example, a characteristicassociated with electrical activities of a brain) of the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 812 may include an operation 820 foracquiring an identity for at least an electroencephalography (EEG)device that was used to sense the one or more physical characteristicsof the authoring user. For instance, the sensor identification (ID)acquisition module 204 of the authoring network device 10 acquiring fromthe memory 49 or from the one or more sensors 48 an identity (e.g.,sensor type or model number) for at least an electroencephalography(EEG) device 142 that was used to sense the one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., a cerebral characteristic including, for example,a characteristic associated with electrical activities of a brain) ofthe authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 812 may include an operation 822 foracquiring an identity for at least one of a galvanic skin sensor device,heart rate sensor device, a blood pressure sensor device, or arespiration sensor device used to sense the one or more physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user. For instance, the sensoridentification (ID) acquisition module 204 of the authoring networkdevice 10 acquiring from the memory 49 or from the one or more sensors48 an identity (e.g., sensor type or model number) for at least one of agalvanic skin sensor device 144, a heart rate sensor device 145, a bloodpressure sensor device 146, or a respiration sensor device 147 used tosense the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., heart rate, bloodpressure, or respiration) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 812 may include an operation 824 foracquiring an identity for at least one of a facial expression sensordevice, a skin characteristic sensor device, a voice response device, agaze tracking device, or an iris response device used to sense the oneor more physical characteristics of the authoring user. For instance,the sensor identification (ID) acquisition module 204 of the authoringnetwork device 10 acquiring from the memory 49 or from the one or moresensors 48 an identity (e.g., sensor type or model number) for at leastone of a facial expression sensor device 148, a skin characteristicsensor device 149, a voice response device 150, a gaze tracking device151, or an iris response device 152 used to sense the one or morephysical characteristics (e.g., facial expression, skin characteristic,voice characteristic, eye movement, or iris characteristic) of theauthoring user 18.

In various embodiments, the inference data association operation 306depicted in FIG. 3 may include one or more additional operations. Forexample, in some embodiments, the inference data association operation306 may include an inclusion operation 902 for including into theelectronic message the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9A. For instance, theinference data inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10including into the electronic message 20 (e.g., in the proximatelocation of the particular item 21, in the particular item 21 itself, orin other locations in the electronic message 21) the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of anger, state ofhappiness, and so forth) of the authoring user 18. The inference data tobe included may be in various forms including, for example, “raw” dataprovided by one or more sensors 48, data provided by a mental stateinference module 106 that may directly identify an inferred mental statefor the authoring user 18, or in some other form.

In some embodiments, operation 902 may further include one or moreadditional operations. For example, in some implementations, operation902 may include an operation 904 for including into the particular itemor proximate to a location of the particular item in the electronicmessage the inference data indicative of the inferred mental state ofthe authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9A. For instance, theinference data inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10including into the particular item 21 or proximate (e.g., nearby) to alocation of the particular item 21 in the electronic message 20 the data(e.g., as acquired by the inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of frustration,state of approval or disapproval, state of trust, and so forth) of theauthoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 902 may include an operation 906 forincluding into to the electronic message a time stamp associated withthe inference data indicative of the inferred mental state of theauthoring user, the time stamp corresponding to a time stamp associatedwith an action performed by the authoring user in connection with theparticular item as illustrated in FIG. 9A. For instance, the inferencedata inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10 includinginto to the electronic message 20 a time stamp (e.g., as provided by atime stamp module 125) associated with the inference data indicative ofthe inferred mental state (e.g., one or more of state of anger, state ofdistress, state of pain, and so forth) of the authoring user 18, thetime stamp corresponding to a time stamp associated with an action(e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) performed by theauthoring user 18 in connection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 902 may include an operation 908 forincluding into the electronic message an identifier to the inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 9A. For instance, the inference data inclusionmodule 110 of the authoring network device 10 including into theelectronic message 20 an identifier (e.g., a name, an address, ahyperlink, and so forth) to the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., one or more of state of happiness, state ofsurprise, state of inattention, and so forth) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 908 may further include an operation910 for including into the electronic message a hyperlink to theinference data indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoringuser as illustrated in FIG. 9A. For instance, the inference datainclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10 including intothe electronic message 20 a hyperlink to the inference data indicativeof the inferred mental state (e.g., one or more of state of arousal,state of impatience, state of confusion, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, operation 902 may include an operation 912 forincluding into the electronic message metadata indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9A.For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 metadataindicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., one or more of state ofdistraction, state of overall mental activity, state of alertness, stateof acuity, and so forth) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 902 may include an operation 918 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on one or more physical characteristics of the authoringuser sensed during or proximate to an action in connection with theparticular item and performed, at least in part, by the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 9B. For instance, the inference data inclusionmodule 110 of the authoring network device 10 including into theelectronic message 20 data (e.g., as provided by an inference dataacquisition module 30 via a physical characteristic sensing module 108)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., one or more of state ofanger, state of distress, state of pain, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 that was obtained based, at least in part, on one or morephysical characteristics (e.g., cerebral, cardiopulmonary, or systemphysiological characteristic) of the authoring user 18 sensed (e.g., bya physical characteristic sensing module 108 via one or more sensors 48)during or proximate to an action (e.g., relocating, extracting,forwarding, and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

Operation 918 in various implementations my further include one or moreadditional operations as illustrated in FIGS. 9B to 9H. For instance, insome implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 920 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of aninferred mental state of the authoring user indicating that theauthoring user was in at least one of a state of anger, a state ofdistress, or a state of pain during or proximate to the action inconnection with the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9B. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 inferencedata indicative of an inferred mental state of the authoring user 18(e.g., as provided by inference data acquisition module 30) indicatingthat the authoring user 18 was in at least one of a state of anger, astate of distress, or a state of pain during or proximate to the action(e.g., storing, activating or deactivating, tagging, and so forth) inconnection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 922 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of aninferred mental state of the authoring user indicating that theauthoring user was in at least one of a state of frustration, a state ofapproval or disapproval, a state of trust, a state of fear, a state ofhappiness, a state of surprise, a state of inattention, a state ofarousal, a state of impatience, a state of confusion, a state ofdistraction, a state of overall mental activity, a state of alertness,or a state of acuity during or proximate to the action in connectionwith the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9B. For instance, theinference data inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10including into the electronic message 20 inference data indicative of aninferred mental state of the authoring user 18 (e.g., as provided byinference data acquisition module 30) indicating that the authoring user18 was in at least one of a state of frustration, a state of approval ordisapproval, a state of trust, a state of fear, a state of happiness, astate of surprise, a state of inattention, a state of arousal, a stateof impatience, a state of confusion, a state of distraction, a state ofoverall mental activity, a state of alertness, or a state of acuityduring or proximate to the action (e.g., associating, categorizing,substituting, inserting, and so forth) in connection with the particularitem 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 924 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based onat least one cerebral characteristic of the authoring user sensed duringor proximate to an action in connection with the particular item andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 9C. For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20inference data indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state ofanger, state of distress, state of pain, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 that was obtained (e.g., via inference data acquisition module30) based on at least one cerebral characteristic (e.g., acharacteristic associated with electrical activity of a brain) of theauthoring user 18 sensed (e.g., via an EEG device 142 and/or an MEGdevice 143) during or proximate to an action (e.g., creating, modifying,deleting, and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21 andperformed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 926 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based onat least one cardiopulmonary characteristic of the authoring user sensedduring or proximate to an action in connection with the particular itemand performed, at least in part, by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 9C. For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20inference data indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state offrustration, state of approval or disapproval, state of trust, and soforth) of the authoring user 18 that was obtained (e.g., via inferencedata acquisition module 30) based on at least one cardiopulmonarycharacteristic (e.g., heart rate) of the authoring user 18 sensed (e.g.,via heart rate sensor device 145) during or proximate to an action(e.g., relocating, extracting, forwarding, and so forth) in connectionwith the particular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by theauthoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 928 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based onat least one systemic physiological characteristic of the authoring usersensed during or proximate to an action in connection with theparticular item and performed, at least in part, by the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 9C. For instance, the inference data inclusionmodule 110 of the authoring network device 10 including into theelectronic message 20 inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate (e.g., state of fear, state of happiness, state of surprise, andso forth) of the authoring user 18 that was obtained (e.g., viainference data acquisition module 30) based on at least one systemicphysiological characteristic (e.g., blood pressure) of the authoringuser 18 sensed (e.g., via a blood pressure sensor device 146) during orproximate to an action (e.g., storing, activating or deactivating,tagging, associating, and so forth) in connection with the particularitem 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 930 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on at least one of galvanic skin response, heart rate,blood pressure, or respiration of the authoring user sensed during orproximate to the action in connection with the particular item asillustrated in FIG. 9D. For instance, the inference data inclusionmodule 110 of the authoring network device 10 including into theelectronic message 20 inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate (e.g., state of inattention, state of arousal, state ofimpatience, state of confusion, and so forth) of the authoring user 18that was obtained (e.g., via inference data acquisition module 30)based, at least in part, on at least one of galvanic skin response,heart rate, blood pressure, or respiration of the authoring user sensed(e.g., via a galvanic skin sensor device 144, heart rate sensor device145, blood pressure sensor device 146, or respiration sensor device 147)during or proximate to the action (e.g., categorizing, substituting,inserting, and so forth) in connection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 932 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on at least one of blood oxygen or blood volume changesof a brain of the authoring user sensed during or proximate to theaction in connection with the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9D.For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state ofdistraction, state of overall mental activity, state of alertness, stateof acuity, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 that was obtained(e.g., via inference data acquisition module 30) based, at least inpart, on at least one of blood oxygen or blood volume changes of a brainof the authoring user 18 sensed (e.g., via an fMRI device 140 and/or anfNIR device 141) during or proximate to the action (e.g., creating,modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection with the particularitem 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 934 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on electrical activity of a brain associated with theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9D. For instance, the inferencedata inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10 includinginto the electronic message 20 inference data indicative of the inferredmental state (e.g., state of anger, state of distress, state of pain,and so forth) of the authoring user 18 that was obtained (e.g., viainference data acquisition module 30) based, at least in part, onelectrical activity of a brain (e.g., as sensed by EEG device 142)associated with the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 936 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on at least one of facial expression, skincharacteristic, voice characteristic, eye movement, or iris dilation ofthe authoring user sensed during or proximate to the action inconnection with the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9E. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of happiness,state of surprise, state of inattention, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 that was obtained (e.g., via inference data acquisition module30) based, at least in part, on at least one of facial expression, skincharacteristic, voice characteristic, eye movement, or iris dilation ofthe authoring user 18 sensed (e.g., via facial expression sensor device148, skin characteristic sensor device 149, voice response device 150,gaze tracking device 151, and/or iris response device 152) during orproximate to the action (e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, and soforth) in connection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 938 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on data obtained in response to a functional magneticresonance imaging procedure or a functional near infrared procedureperformed on the authoring user during or proximate to the action inconnection with the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9E. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of arousal,state impatience, state of confusion, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 that was obtained (e.g., via inference data acquisition module30) based, at least in part, on data obtained in response to afunctional magnetic resonance imaging procedure (e.g., using an fMRIdevice 140) or a functional near infrared procedure (e.g., using an fNIRdevice 141) performed on the authoring user 18 during or proximate tothe action (e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) inconnection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 940 forincluding into the electronic message inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user that was obtained based, atleast in part, on data obtained in response to a magnetoencephalography(MEG) procedure or an electroencephalography (EEG) procedure performedon the authoring user during or proximate to the action in connectionwith the particular item as illustrated in FIG. 9E. For instance, theinference data inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10including into the electronic message 20 inference data indicative ofthe inferred mental state (e.g., state of distraction, state of overallmental activity, state of alertness, state of acuity, and so forth) ofthe authoring user 18 that was obtained (e.g., via inference dataacquisition module 30) based, at least in part, on data obtained inresponse to a magnetoencephalography (MEG) procedure (e.g., using an MEGdevice 143) or an electroencephalography (EEG) procedure (e.g., using anEEG device 142) performed on the authoring user 18 during or proximateto the action (e.g., creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) inconnection with the particular item 21.

In some implementations, operation 918 may include an operation 942 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item and performed, at least in part, bythe authoring user as illustrated in FIGS. 9F to 9H. For instance, theinference data inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10including into the electronic message 20 an indication (e.g., asprovided by an action module 34) of an action (e.g., creating,modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection with the particularitem 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

In various implementations, operation 942 may include one or moreadditional operations. For example, in some implementations, operation942 may include an operation 944 for including into the electronicmessage an indication of an action in connection with the particularitem that indicates that the particular item was created by theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9F. For instance, the inferencedata inclusion module 110 of the authoring network device 10 includinginto the electronic message 20 an indication of an action (e.g., asprovided by an action module 34) in connection with the particular item21 that indicates that the particular item 21 was created (e.g., via acreation module 112) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 946 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was modified by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9F. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was modified (e.g., via a modification module 113) by the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 948 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was deleted by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9F. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was deleted (e.g., via a deletion module 114) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 950 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was relocated in the electronic message by the authoring user asillustrated in FIG. 9F. For instance, the inference data inclusionmodule 110 of the authoring network device 10 including into theelectronic message 20 an indication of an action (e.g., as provided byan action module 34) in connection with the particular item 21 thatindicates that the particular item 21 was relocated (e.g., via arelocation module 115) in the electronic message 20 by the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 952 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was extracted by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9F. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was extracted (e.g., via an extraction module 116) by the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 954 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was forwarded by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9G. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was forwarded (e.g., via a forwarding module 117) by the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 956 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was stored by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9G. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was stored (e.g., via a storing module 118) into, for example, memory 49by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 958 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was activated or deactivated by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 9G. For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20 anindication of an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) inconnection with the particular item 21 that indicates that theparticular item 21 was activated or deactivated (e.g., via an activatingand deactivating module 119) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 960 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was tagged by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9G. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was tagged (e.g., via a tagging module 120) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 962 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was associated to another item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 9G. For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20 anindication of an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) inconnection with the particular item 21 that indicates that theparticular item 21 was associated (e.g., via an associating module 121)to another item (e.g., which may or may not be external to theelectronic message 20) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 964 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was categorized by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9H.For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was categorized (e.g., via a categorizing module 122) by the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 966 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was substituted by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9H.For instance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was substituted (e.g., via a substituting module 123) by the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, operation 942 may include an operation 968 forincluding into the electronic message an indication of an action inconnection with the particular item that indicates that the particularitem was inserted by the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 9H. Forinstance, the inference data inclusion module 110 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 an indicationof an action (e.g., as provided by an action module 34) in connectionwith the particular item 21 that indicates that the particular item 21was inserted (e.g., via an inserting module 124) by the authoring user18.

The inference data association operation 306 of FIG. 3 may furtherinclude other additional or alternative operations in variousalternative embodiments. For example, the inference data associationoperation 306 in some implementations may include an operation 1002 forassociating the inference data indicative of the inferred mental stateof the authoring user with the particular item in response to a requestby the authoring user as illustrated in FIG. 10A. For instance, theinference data association module 32 of the authoring network device 10associating (e.g., by including into the electronic message 20) the data(e.g., as provided by an inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of anger, state ofdistress, state of pain, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with theparticular item 21 in response to a request (e.g., as provided through auser interface 44) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, the inference data association operation 306may include an operation 1004 for associating the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user with theparticular item in response to a transmission of the electronic messageas illustrated in FIG. 10A. For instance, the inference data associationmodule 32 of the authoring network device 10 associating (e.g., byincluding into the electronic message 20) the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of frustration, state of approval ordisapproval, state of trust, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 withthe particular item 21 in response to a transmission of the electronicmessage 20.

In some implementations, the inference data association operation 306may include an operation 1006 for associating the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user with theparticular item in response to a storing of the electronic message asillustrated in FIG. 10A. For instance, the inference data associationmodule 32 of the authoring network device 10 associating (e.g., byincluding into the electronic message 20) the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of fear, state of happiness, state ofsurprise, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particularitem 21 in response to a storing (e.g., in memory 49 or in a networkserver) of the electronic message 20.

In some implementations, the inference data association operation 306may include an operation 1008 for associating the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user with theparticular item in response to an action in connection with theparticular item and performed, at least in part, by the authoring useras illustrated in FIGS. 10B and 10C. For instance, the inference dataassociation module 32 of the authoring network device 10 associating(e.g., by including into the electronic message 20) the inference data(e.g., as provided by an inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of inattention,state of arousal, state of impatience, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 with the particular item 21 in response to an action (e.g.,creating, modifying, deleting, and so forth) in connection with theparticular item 21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoringuser 18 (e.g., via an action module 34).

In various embodiments, operation 1008 may include one or moreadditional operations as illustrated in FIGS. 10B and 10C. For example,in some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1010for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to acreating of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 10B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of confusion, state of distraction,state of overall mental activity, state of alertness, state of acuity,and so forth) of the authoring user18 with the particular item 21 inresponse to a creating (e.g., via a creation module 112) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1012for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to amodifying of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 9B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of anger, state of distress, state ofpain, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particular item 21in response to a modifying (e.g., via a modification module 113) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1014for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to adeleting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 10B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of frustration, state of approval ordisapproval, state of trust, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 withthe particular item 21 in response to a deleting (e.g., via a deletionmodule 114) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1016for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to arelocating of the particular item in the electronic message by theauthoring user as illustrated in FIG. 10B. For instance, the inferencedata association module 32 of the authoring network device 10associating the inference data (e.g., as provided by an inference dataacquisition module 30) indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g.,state of fear, state of happiness, state of surprise, and so forth) ofthe authoring user 18 with the particular item 21 in response to arelocating (e.g., via a relocation module 115) of the particular item 21in the electronic message 20 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1018for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to anextracting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 10B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 ofthe authoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of inattention, state of arousal,state of impatience, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with theparticular item 21 in response to an extracting (e.g., via an extractionmodule 116) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1020for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to aforwarding of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 10B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 ofthe authoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of confusion, state of distraction,state of overall mental activity, state of alertness, state of acuity,and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particular item 21 inresponse to a forwarding (e.g., via a forwarding module 117) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1022for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to astoring of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 10B. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of anger, state of distress, state ofpain, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particular item 21in response to a storing (e.g., via a storing module 118) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1024for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to anactivating or deactivating of the particular item by the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data associationmodule 32 of the authoring network device 10 associating the inferencedata (e.g., as provided by an inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of frustration,state of approval or disapproval, state of trust, and so forth) of theauthoring user 18 with the particular item 21 in response to anactivating or deactivating (e.g., via an activating and deactivatingmodule 119) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1026for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to atagging of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of fear, state of happiness, state ofsurprise, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particularitem 21 in response to a tagging (e.g., via a tagging module 120) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1028for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to anassociating of the particular item to another item by the authoring useras illustrated in FIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data associationmodule 32 of the authoring network device 10 associating the inferencedata (e.g., as provided by an inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of inattention,state of arousal, state of impatience, and so forth) of the authoringuser 18 with the particular item 21 in response to an associating (e.g.,via an associating module 121) of the particular item 21 to another item(e.g., which may or may not be external to the electronic message 20) bythe authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1030for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to acategorizing of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data association module 32 ofthe authoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of confusion, state of distraction,state of overall mental activity, state of alertness, state of acuity,and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particular item 21 inresponse to a categorizing (e.g., via a categorizing module 122) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1032for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to asubstituting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustratedin FIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data association module 32 ofthe authoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of anger, state of distress, state ofpain, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 with the particular item 21in response to a substituting (e.g., via a substituting module 123) ofthe particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1008 may include an operation 1034for associating the inference data indicative of the inferred mentalstate of the authoring user with the particular item in response to aninserting of the particular item by the authoring user as illustrated inFIG. 10C. For instance, the inference data association module 32 of theauthoring network device 10 associating the inference data (e.g., asprovided by an inference data acquisition module 30) indicative of theinferred mental state (e.g., state of frustration, state of approval ordisapproval, state of trust, and so forth) of the authoring user 18 withthe particular item 21 in response to an inserting (e.g., via aninserting module 124) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user18.

In various alternative embodiments, the association of the inferencedata indicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18with the particular item 21 may be in response to other actions (whichmay be directly or indirectly connected to the particular item 21) otherthan those described above (e.g., creating, deleting, modifying, and soforth in connection with the particular item 21). For instance, in somealternative implementations, the association of the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18 withthe particular item 21 (e.g., as performed by the inference dataassociation module 32 of the authoring network device 10) may be inresponse to a searching operation (e.g., in order to find particularinformation on the Internet) initiated by the authoring user 18 and thatmay have been prompted while accessing the particular item 21. Otheractions that may cause the inference data (i.e., inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user 18) to beassociated with particular item 21 may include, for example, particularmovements of a user interface device (e.g., mouse) or other types ofinputs received from other user interface devices.

In various embodiments, the source identity association operation 308 ofFIG. 3 may include one or more additional operations. For example, insome implementations, in order to associate source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources to theparticular item, the source identity association operation 308 mayinclude an operation 1102 for including into the electronic message thesource identity data providing one or more identities of the one or moresources as illustrated in FIG. 11A. For instance, the source identityinclusion module 111 of the authoring network device 10 including intothe electronic message 20 the source identity data providing one or moreidentities (e.g., names, model numbers or identifiers, source types,hyperlinks, addresses, and/or other types of identifiers) of the one ormore sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48). Note that in somealternative implementations the source identity association operation308 may associate the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item 21without having to include the identities of the one or more sources intothe electronic message 20. For example, in some implementations, thelinking of the identities of the one or more sources may be included ina separate electronic message other than in the electronic message 20that includes the particular item 21.

In various implementations, operation 1102 may include one or moreadditional operations as illustrated in FIGS. 11A to 11C. For example,in some implementations, operation 1102 may include an operation 1104for including into the electronic message an identity associated withthe authoring user as depicted in FIG. 11A. For instance, the sourceidentity inclusion module 111 of the authoring network device 10including (e.g., inserting into the particular item 21 or proximate tothe location of the particular item 21 in the electronic message 20)into the electronic message 20 an identity (e.g., user name or address)associated with the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1102 may include an operation 1106for including into the electronic message an identity associated with aninference technique or model used to derive the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 11A. For instance, the source identity inclusion module111 of the authoring network device 10 including into the electronicmessage 20 (e.g., inserting into the particular item 21 or proximate tothe location of the particular item 21 in the electronic message 20) anidentity (e.g., name) associated with an inference technique or modelused to derive the inference data (e.g., as provided by a mental stateinference module 106) indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g.,state of happiness, state of frustration, state of anger, and so forth)of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1102 may include an operation 1108for including into the electronic message an identity associated with adatabase or library used to derive the inference data indicative of theinferred mental state of the authoring user as depicted in FIG. 11A. Forinstance, the source identity inclusion module 111 of the authoringnetwork device 10 including into the electronic message 20 (e.g.,inserting into the particular item 21 or proximate to the location ofthe particular item 21 in the electronic message 20) an identity (e.g.name or address) associated with a database or library (e.g., databaseor library storing physical characteristic patterns) used to derive theinference data (e.g., as provided by a mental state inference module106) indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of distress,state of pain, state of trust, and so forth) of the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 1102 may include an operation 1110for including into the electronic message source identity data providingone or more identities of one or more sensors used to sense one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user, the inference dataindicative of the inferred mental state of the authoring user beingbased, at least in part, on the one or more physical characteristics ofthe authoring user sensed by the one or more sensors as depicted inFIGS. 11B and 11C. For instance, the source identity inclusion module111 of the authoring network device 10 including into the electronicmessage 20 (e.g., inserting into the particular item 21 or proximate tothe location of the particular item 21 in the electronic message 20)source identity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name ormodel type) of one or more sensors 48 used to sense one or more physicalcharacteristics (e.g., cerebral, cardiopulmonary, and/or systemicphysiological characteristics) of the authoring user 18, the inferencedata (e.g., as provided by an inference data acquisition module 30)indicative of the inferred mental state (e.g., state of approval ordisapproval, state of fear, state of surprise, and so forth) of theauthoring user 18 being based, at least in part, on the one or morephysical characteristics of the authoring user 18 sensed by the one ormore sensors 48.

In various implementations, operation 1110 may include one or moreadditional operations as illustrated in FIGS. 11B and 11C. For example,in some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1112for including into the electronic message an identity for at least afunctional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) device that was used to sensethe one or more physical characteristics of the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 11B. For instance, the source identity inclusion module111 of the authoring network device 10 including into the electronicmessage 20 an identity (e.g., name or model type) for at least afunctional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) device 140 that was used tosense the one or more physical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen orblood volume changes of a brain) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1114for including into the electronic message an identity for at least afunctional near infrared (fNIR) device that was used to sense the one ormore physical characteristics of the authoring user as depicted in FIG.11B. For instance, the source identity inclusion module 111 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20 anidentity (e.g., name or model type) for at least a functional nearinfrared (fNIR) device 141 that was used to sense the one or morephysical characteristics (e.g., blood oxygen or blood volume changes ofa brain) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1116for including into the electronic message an identity for at least amagnetoencephalography (MEG) device that was used to sense the one ormore physical characteristics of the authoring user as depicted in FIG.11B. For instance, the source identity inclusion module 111 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20 anidentity (e.g., name or model type) for at least amagnetoencephalography (MEG) device 143 that was used to sense the oneor more physical characteristics (e.g., one or more characteristicsassociated with electrical activities of a brain) of the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1118for including into the electronic message an identity for at least anelectroencephalography (EEG) device that was used to sense the one ormore physical characteristics of the authoring user as depicted in FIG.11C. For instance, the source identity inclusion module 111 of theauthoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20 anidentity (e.g., name or model type) for at least anelectroencephalography (EEG) device 142 that was used to sense the oneor more physical characteristics (e.g., one or more characteristicsassociated with electrical activities of a brain) of the authoring user18.

In some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1120for including into the electronic message an identity for at least oneof a galvanic skin sensor device, a heart rate sensor device, a bloodpressure sensor device, or a respiration sensor device used to sense theone or more physical characteristics of the authoring user as depictedin FIG. 11C. For instance, the source identity inclusion module 111 ofthe authoring network device 10 including into the electronic message 20an identity (e.g., name or model type) for at least one of a galvanicskin sensor device 144, a heart rate sensor device 145, a blood pressuresensor device 146, or a respiration sensor device 147 used to sense theone or more physical characteristics (e.g., galvanic skin response,heart rate, blood pressure, or respiration) of the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1110 may include an operation 1122for including into the electronic message an identity for at least oneof a facial expression sensor device, a skin characteristic sensordevice, a voice response device, a gaze tracking device, or an irisresponse device used to sense the one or more physical characteristicsof the authoring user as depicted in FIG. 11C. For instance, the sourceidentity inclusion module 111 of the authoring network device 10including into the electronic message 20 an identity (e.g., name ormodel type) for at least one of a facial expression sensor device 148, askin characteristic sensor device 149, a voice response device 150, agaze tracking device 151, or an iris response device 152 used to sensethe one or more physical characteristics (e.g., facial expression, skincharacteristic, voice characteristic, eye movement, or irischaracteristic) of the authoring user 18.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the source identity associationoperation 308 of FIG. 3 may include one or more additional operations invarious alternative embodiments. For example, in variousimplementations, the source identity association operation 308 mayinclude an operation 1202 for associating the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources with theparticular item in response to a request by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12A. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities of the one or moresources with the particular item 21 (e.g., by linking the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities to the particular item 21via, for example, a hyperlink, or by including the source identity dataproviding one or more identities into the particular item 21 or into theelectronic message 20) in response to a request by the authoring user 18and made through, for example, a user interface 44.

In some implementations, the source identity association operation 308may include an operation 1204 for associating the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources with theparticular item in response to a transmission of the electronic messageas depicted in FIG. 12A. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating (e.g., bylinking the source identity data providing one or more identities to theparticular item 21 via, for example, a hyperlink, or by including thesource identity data providing one or more identities into theparticular item 21 or into the electronic message 20) the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name or names) ofthe one or more sources (e.g., inference technique or model) with theparticular item 21 in response to a transmission (e.g., via, forexample, a network communication interface 42) of the electronic message20.

In some implementations, the source identity association operation 308may include an operation 1206 for associating the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources with theparticular item in response to a storing of the electronic message asdepicted in FIG. 12A. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating (e.g., bylinking the source identity data providing one or more identities to theparticular item 21 via, for example, a hyperlink, or by including thesource identity data providing one or more identities into theparticular item 21 or into the electronic message 20) the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names or sourcetypes) of the one or more sources (e.g., sensors 48) with the particularitem 21 in response to a storing of the electronic message 20 (e.g.,into the memory 49).

In various embodiments, the source identity association operation 308may include an operation 1208 for associating the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources with theparticular item in response to an action in connection with theparticular item and performed, at least in part, by the authoring useras depicted in FIGS. 12B and 12C. For instance, the source identityassociation module 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating thesource identity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name, modelnumber, source type, and so forth) of the one or more sources (e.g.,sensors 48) with the particular item 21 in response to an action (e.g.,executed via an action module 34) in connection with the particular item21 and performed, at least in part, by the authoring user 18.

As further illustrated in FIGS. 12B and 12C, operation 1208 may furtherinclude one or more additional operations in various alternativeimplementations. For instance, in some implementations, operation 1208may include an operation 1210 for associating the source identity dataproviding one or more identities of the one or more sources with theparticular item in response to a creating of the particular item by theauthoring user as depicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the sourceidentity association module 33 of the authoring network device 10associating the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., addresses and/or names) of the one or more sources (e.g.,authoring user 18, inference technique or model used to derive theinference data, database or library storing physical characteristicpatterns used to derive the inference data, sensors 48, and/or othersources) with the particular item 21 in response to a creating (e.g.,via a creation module 112) of the particular item 21 by the authoringuser 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1212for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a modifying of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name, source type,and/or model number) of the one or more sources (e.g., authoring user18, inference technique or model used to derive the inference data,database or library storing physical characteristic patterns used toderive the inference data, sensors 48, and/or other sources) with theparticular item 21 in response to a modifying (e.g., via a modificationmodule 113) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1214for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a deleting of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name, modelnumber, and/or source type) of the one or more sources (e.g., sensors48) with the particular item 21 in response to a deleting (e.g., via adeletion module 114) of the particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1216for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a relocating of the particular item in the electronicmessage by the authoring user as depicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, thesource identity association module 33 of the authoring network device 10associating the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., name) of the one or more sources (e.g., inference technique ormodel) with the particular item 21 in response to a relocating (e.g.,via a relocation module 115) of the particular item 21 in the electronicmessage 20 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1218for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to an extracting of the particular item by the authoring useras depicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., name and/oraddress) of the one or more sources (e.g., authoring user 18 and/ordatabase or library storing physical charactertistic patterns used forinferring mental states) with the particular item 21 in response to anextracting (e.g., via an extraction module 116) of the particular item21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1220for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a forwarding of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item 21in response to a forwarding (e.g., via a forwarding module 117) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1222for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a storing of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12B. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item 21in response to a storing (e.g., storing into memory 49) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1224for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to an activating or deactivating of the particular item by theauthoring user as depicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the sourceidentity association module 33 of the authoring network device 10associating the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., names and/or source types) of the one or more sources (e.g., oneor more sensors 48 including an FMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, anEEG device 142, an MEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with theparticular item 21 in response to an activating or deactivating (e.g.,via an activating or deactivating module 119) of the particular item 21by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1226for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a tagging of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item 21in response to a tagging (e.g., via a tagging module 120) of theparticular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1228for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to an associating of the particular item to another item by theauthoring user as depicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the sourceidentity association module 33 of the authoring network device 10associating the source identity data providing one or more identities(e.g., names and/or source types) of the one or more sources (e.g., oneor more sensors 48 including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, anEEG device 142, an MEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with theparticular item 21 in response to an associating (e.g., via anassociating module 121) of the particular item 21 to another item (e.g.,an item included in the electronic message 21 or external to theelectronic message 21) by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1230for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a categorizing of the particular item by the authoring useras depicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item21in response to a categorizing (e.g., via a categorizing module 122) ofthe particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1232for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to a substituting of the particular item by the authoring useras depicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item 21in response to a substituting (e.g., via a substituting module 123) ofthe particular item 21 by the authoring user 18.

In some implementations, operation 1208 may include an operation 1234for associating the source identity data providing one or moreidentities of the one or more sources with the particular item inresponse to an inserting of the particular item by the authoring user asdepicted in FIG. 12C. For instance, the source identity associationmodule 33 of the authoring network device 10 associating the sourceidentity data providing one or more identities (e.g., names and/orsource types) of the one or more sources (e.g., one or more sensors 48including an fMRI device 140, an fNIR device 141, an EEG device 142, anMEG device 143, and/or other sensor devices) with the particular item 21in response to an inserting (e.g., via an inserting module 124) of theparticular item 21 into, for example, the electronic message 21 by theauthoring user 18.

Although it was described in the above description that certain physicalcharacteristics of the authoring user 18 are observed and sensed, othertypes of physical characteristics may also be observed and sensed. Forexample, in the above it was described that in some implementations,blood oxygen or blood volume changes of a brain associated with theauthoring user 18 may be sensed and observed, other characteristics ofthe brain associated with the authoring user 18 may also be sensed andobserved including, for example, metabolic changes associated with thebrain. Such characteristics may be sensed using, for example, a positronemission tomography (PET) scanner.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that opticalaspects of implementations will typically employ optically-orientedhardware, software, and or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), aDigital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious aspects described herein which can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various typesof “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electricalcircuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry havingat least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having atleast one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least oneapplication specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming ageneral purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g.,a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which atleast partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein,or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at leastpartially carries out processes and/or devices described herein),electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of randomaccess memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communicationsdevice (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electricalequipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog ordigital fashion or some combination thereof.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that it is common withinthe art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forthherein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate suchdescribed devices and/or processes into data processing systems. Thatis, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described hereincan be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amountof experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that atypical data processing system generally includes one or more of asystem unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatileand non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digitalsignal processors, computational entities such as operating systems,drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one ormore interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or controlsystems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback forsensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/oradjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processingsystem may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially availablecomponents, such as those typically found in datacomputing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recitednumber (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).

In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A,B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended inthe sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention(e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include butnot be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the artthat virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or morealternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings,should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including oneof the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, thephrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

1.-276. (canceled)
 277. A system, comprising: an inference dataacquisition module configured to acquire inference data that indicate aninferred mental state of an authoring user in connection with aparticular item of an electronic message, the inference data derivedbased, at least in part, on at least one physical characteristic of theauthoring user; a source identity acquisition module configured toacquire source identity data providing at least one identity of one ormore sources that provide a basis, at least in part, for the inferencedata; an inference data association module configured to associate theinference data with the particular item; and a source identityassociation module configured to associate the source identity data withthe particular item.
 278. The system of claim 359, wherein said one ormore sensors configured to sense at least one physical characteristic ofan authoring user in connection with a particular item of an electronicmessage comprises: one or more sensors configured to sense at least onecerebral characteristic associated with the authoring user.
 279. Thesystem of claim 359, wherein said one or more sensors configured tosense at least one physical characteristic of an authoring user inconnection with a particular item of an electronic message comprises:one or more sensors configured to sense at least one cardiopulmonarycharacteristic associated with the authoring user.
 280. The system ofclaim 359, wherein said one or more sensors configured to sense at leastone physical characteristic of an authoring user in connection with aparticular item of an electronic message comprises: one or more sensorsconfigured to sense at least one systemic physiological characteristicassociated with the authoring user.
 281. The system of claim 359,wherein said one or more sensors configured to sense at least onephysical characteristic of an authoring user in connection with aparticular item of an electronic message comprises: a functionalmagnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) device.
 282. The system of claim 359,wherein said one or more sensors configured to sense at least onephysical characteristic of an authoring user in connection with aparticular item of an electronic message comprises: a functional nearinfrared (fNIR) device.
 283. The system of claim 359, wherein said oneor more sensors configured to sense at least one physical characteristicof an authoring user in connection with a particular item of anelectronic message comprises: an electroencephalography (EEG) device.284. The system of claim 359, wherein said one or more sensorsconfigured to sense at least one physical characteristic of an authoringuser in connection with a particular item of an electronic messagecomprises: a magnetoencephalography (MEG) device.
 285. (canceled) 286.The system of claim 359, wherein said one or more sensors configured tosense at least one physical characteristic of an authoring user inconnection with a particular item of an electronic message comprises: atleast one of a facial expression sensor device or a skin characteristicsensor device.
 287. The system of claim 359, wherein said one or moresensors configured to sense at least one physical characteristic of anauthoring user in connection with a particular item of an electronicmessage comprises: a voice response device.
 288. The system of claim359, wherein said one or more sensors configured to sense at least onephysical characteristic of an authoring user in connection with aparticular item of an electronic message comprises: at least one of agaze tracking device or an iris response device. 289-295. (canceled)296. The system of claim 277, wherein said inference data acquisitionmodule configured to acquire inference data that indicate an inferredmental state of an authoring user in connection with a particular itemof an electronic message, the inference data derived based, at least inpart, on at least one physical characteristic of the authoring usercomprises: an inference data acquisition module configured to acquirewith the inference data a time stamp associated with observing of the atleast one physical characteristic of the authoring user.
 297. The systemof claim 296, wherein said inference data acquisition module configuredto acquire with the inference data a time stamp associated withobserving of the at least one physical characteristic of the authoringuser comprises: an inference data acquisition module configured toacquire with the inference data a time stamp associated with theobserving of the at least one physical characteristic of the authoringuser, the time stamp corresponding with a time stamp associated with anaction performed by the authoring user with respect to the particularitem. 298-301. (canceled)
 302. The system of claim 277, wherein saidinference data acquisition module configured to acquire inference datathat indicate an inferred mental state of an authoring user inconnection with a particular item of an electronic message, theinference data derived based, at least in part, on at least one physicalcharacteristic of the authoring user comprises: a mental state inferencemodule configured to infer a mental state of the authoring user based,at least in part, on the at least one physical characteristic of theauthoring user sensed by one or more sensors.
 303. (canceled) 304.(canceled)
 305. The system of claim 277, wherein said source identityacquisition module configured to acquire source identity data providingat least one identity of one or more sources that provide a basis, atleast in part, for the inference data comprises: a source identityacquisition module configured to acquire at least one identity of theone or more sources from the one or more sources.
 306. The system ofclaim 277, wherein said source identity acquisition module configured toacquire source identity data providing at least one identity of one ormore sources that provide a basis, at least in part, for the inferencedata comprises: a source identity acquisition module configured toacquire at least one identity of the one or more sources from a memory.307. The system of claim 277, wherein said source identity acquisitionmodule configured to acquire source identity data providing at least oneidentity of one or more sources that provide a basis, at least in part,for the inference data comprises: an authoring user identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire the authoring user's identity.308. The system of claim 277, wherein said source identity acquisitionmodule configured to acquire source identity data providing at least oneidentity of one or more sources that provide a basis, at least in part,for the inference data comprises: an inference technique or modelidentity (ID) acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of aninference technique or model used to derive the inference data.
 309. Thesystem of claim 277, wherein said source identity acquisition moduleconfigured to acquire source identity data providing at least oneidentity of one or more sources that provide a basis, at least in part,for the inference data comprises: a database or library identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of a database orlibrary used to derive the inference data.
 310. The system of claim 277,wherein said source identity acquisition module configured to acquiresource identity data providing at least one identity of one or moresources that provide a basis, at least in part, for the inference datacomprises: a sensor identity (ID) acquisition module configured toacquire one or more identities of the one or more sensors used to sensethe at least one physical characteristic of the authoring user.
 311. Thesystem of claim 310, wherein said sensor identity (ID) acquisitionmodule configured to acquire one or more identities of the one or moresensors used to sense the at least one physical characteristic of theauthoring user comprises: a sensor identity (ID) acquisition moduleconfigured to acquire an identity of a functional magnetic resonanceimage (fMRI) device used to sense the at least one physicalcharacteristic of the authoring user.
 312. The system of claim 310,wherein said sensor identity (ID) acquisition module configured toacquire one or more identities of the one or more sensors used to sensethe at least one physical characteristic of the authoring usercomprises: a sensor identity (ID) acquisition module configured toacquire an identity of a functional near infrared (fNIR) device used tosense the at least one physical characteristic of the authoring user.313. The system of claim 310, wherein said sensor identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire one or more identities of theone or more sensors used to sense the at least one physicalcharacteristic of the authoring user comprises: a sensor identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of amagnetoencephalography (MEG) device used to sense the at least onephysical characteristic of the authoring user.
 314. The system of claim310, wherein said sensor identity (ID) acquisition module configured toacquire one or more identities of the one or more sensors used to sensethe at least one physical characteristic of the authoring usercomprises: a sensor identity (ID) acquisition module configured toacquire an identity of an electroencephalography (EEG) device that wasused to sense the at least one physical characteristic of the authoringuser.
 315. (canceled)
 316. The system of claim 310, wherein said sensoridentity (ID) acquisition module configured to acquire one or moreidentities of the one or more sensors used to sense the at least onephysical characteristic of the authoring user comprises: a sensoridentity (ID) acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of afacial expression sensor device or a skin characteristic sensor deviceused to sense the at least one physical characteristic of the authoringuser.
 317. The system of claim 310, wherein said sensor identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire one or more identities of theone or more sensors used to sense the at least one physicalcharacteristic of the authoring user comprises: a sensor identity (ID)acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of a voice responsedevice used to sense the at least one physical characteristic of theauthoring user.
 318. The system of claim 310, wherein said sensoridentity (ID) acquisition module configured to acquire one or moreidentities of the one or more sensors used to sense the at least onephysical characteristic of the authoring user comprises: a sensoridentity (ID) acquisition module configured to acquire an identity of agaze tracking device or an iris response device used to sense the atleast one physical characteristic of the authoring user.
 319. The systemof claim 277, wherein said inference data association module configuredto associate the inference data with the particular item comprises: aninference data inclusion module configured to include the inference datainto the electronic message.
 320. The system of claim 319, wherein saidinference data inclusion module configured to include the inference datainto the electronic message comprises: an inference data inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message a time stampassociated with the inference data, the time stamp corresponding to atime samp associated with an action performed by the authoring user inconnection with the particular item. 321-333. (canceled)
 334. The systemof claim 277, wherein said source identity association module configuredto associate the source identity data with the particular itemcomprises: a source identity inclusion module configured to include intothe electronic message the source identity data acquired by the sourceidentity acquisition module.
 335. The system of claim 334, wherein saidsource identity inclusion module configured to include into theelectronic message the source identity data acquired by the sourceidentity acquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message the authoringuser's identity.
 336. The system of claim 334, wherein said sourceidentity inclusion module configured to include into the electronicmessage the source identity data acquired by the source identityacquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusion moduleconfigured to include into the electronic message an identity of aninference technique or model used to derive the inference data acquiredby the inference data acquisition module.
 337. The system of claim 334,wherein said source identity inclusion module configured to include intothe electronic message the source identity data acquired by the sourceidentity acquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message an identity ofa database or library used to derive the inference data acquired by theinference data acquisition module.
 338. The system of claim 334, whereinsaid source identity inclusion module configured to include into theelectronic message the source identity data acquired by the sourceidentity acquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message one or moreidentities of one or more sensors used to derive the inference dataacquired by the inference data acquisition module.
 339. The system ofclaim 338, wherein said source identity inclusion module configured toinclude into the electronic message one or more identities of one ormore sensors used to derive the inference data acquired by the inferencedata acquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusion moduleconfigured to include into the electronic message an identity for atleast a functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) device used to derivethe inference data acquired by the inference data acquisition module.340. The system of claim 338, wherein said source identity inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message one or moreidentities of one or more sensors used to derive the inference dataacquired by the inference data acquisition module comprises: a sourceidentity inclusion module configured to include into the electronicmessage an identity for at least a functional near infrared (fNIR)device used to derive the inference data acquired by the inference dataacquisition module.
 341. The system of claim 338, wherein said sourceidentity inclusion module configured to include into the electronicmessage one or more identities of one or more sensors used to derive theinference data acquired by the inference data acquisition modulecomprises: a source identity inclusion module configured to include intothe electronic message an identity for at least a magnetoencephalography(MEG) device used to derive the inference data acquired by the inferencedata acquisition module.
 342. The system of claim 338, wherein saidsource identity inclusion module configured to include into theelectronic message one or more identities of one or more sensors used toderive the inference data acquired by the inference data acquisitionmodule comprises: a source identity inclusion module configured toinclude into the electronic message an identity for at least anelectroencephalography (EEG) device used to derive the inference dataacquired by the inference data acquisition module.
 343. (canceled) 344.The system of claim 338, wherein said source identity inclusion moduleconfigured to include into the electronic message one or more identitiesof one or more sensors used to derive the inference data acquired by theinference data acquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusionmodule configured to include into the electronic message an identity forat least one of a facial expression sensor device or a skincharacteristic sensor device used to derive the inference data acquiredby the inference data acquisition module.
 345. The system of claim 338,wherein said source identity inclusion module configured to include intothe electronic message one or more identities of one or more sensorsused to derive the inference data acquired by the inference dataacquisition module comprises: a source identity inclusion moduleconfigured to include into the electronic message an identity for avoice response device used to derive the inference data acquired by theinference data acquisition module.
 346. The system of claim 338, whereinsaid source identity inclusion module configured to include into theelectronic message one or more identities of one or more sensors used toderive the inference data acquired by the inference data acquisitionmodule comprises: a source identity inclusion module configured toinclude into the electronic message an identity for at least one of agaze tracking device or an iris response device used to derive theinference data acquired by the inference data acquisition module.347-358. (canceled)